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Chapter 37: The Dark Grey Fylkir (January 1115 – January 1118)
  • Chapter 37: The Dark Grey Fylkir (January 1115 – January 1118)

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    January-June 1115

    The start of 1115 saw two large Russian raiding armies marching towards the Danube, intent on ravaging their Byzantine foes to continue to deplete them of men and treasure. Meanwhile, a smaller raiding army continued to sack the holdings of Spoleto in central Italy.

    It was not until the beginning of April that both armies were in position to mutually support each other. Toste’s concubine Asa was the first across the river, beginning the siege of Nikopolis on 3 April. Eirikr followed on to neighbouring Bononia, where a smaller Byzantine army was in the process of fleeing before their arrival on 30 April.

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    During May, the Byzantines began to concentrate their forces, leading to an attack by the renowned General Theophylaktos at Belene in Nikopolis on 2 June. This time the Russians had the defensive advantage of a small river, while Toste’s half-brother Prince Alfr commanded one of the flanks, making it a ‘family affair’.

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    Theophylaktos began the assault significantly outnumbered but Byzantine reinforcements were on their way from a number of directions. In the centre, Asa initially had the advantage of numbers and was soon making inroads against her illustrious counterpart.

    By 26 June, Asa had prevailed on the field with Theophylaktos’ troops routing. But during the pursuit, Prince Alfr outran his troops and was killed by the enemy’s rear guard. And by then, the Russian scouts had detected the approach of a large body of fresh Byzantine troops from the north-east and a smaller group from the east. The Battle of Belene was not quite over yet.

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    On 28 June the newly arrived Captain Ingemar had re-established the Byzantine position in the centre, but his arrival was ill-timed. Both his flanks were in rout and Asa’s whole remaining force had joined in a furious melee.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    July-December 1115

    King Refr of Sardinia and Corsica had been recruited to the vacant commander’s position on 6 July and was able to take Alfr’s place as a flank leader when the battle was won resoundingly the next day. The siege of Nikopolis continued and there had been no need to disrupt Eirikr’s siege of Bononia.

    By mid-July, another advance was made in Russian technology, with doctrine for light infantry and archers being improved.

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    At the end of July, the last holding in Spoleto had been sacked and the 5,500 raiders under Oddr began marching back to Russian Florens. However, by a cruel twist of fate, just four days later they were caught up as ‘collateral damage’ in a massive Fratricelli uprising and were ambushed on the road by almost 9,500 angry heretics.

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    Despite holding three flanks against one and their superior training and weaponry, the Battle of Nursia was something of a disaster, with a heavy Russian casualty list and the army routing all the way to Croatia. The cost of replacing the expensive retinue troops would be a drain on the budget for some time to come.

    As Oddr’s army routed and the Danube sieges progressed, a few events of note occurred in other parts of the Empire. Prince Arnfast, the ‘Emperor Who Never was’, secured another territorial gain in October, wresting Sopron from Duke Engelbert the Careless to further expand his already lartge holdings in Hungary.

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    Engelbert was still unwilling to become a Russian vassal, so Toste went to work on his son and heir instead, arranging a dynastic betrothal between Rudolf (the Franconian heir) and his daughter Princess Linda.

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    The big news in November 1115 came from France, where the legendary Jarl Rikulfr ‘the Sword of the Allfather’ lost a civil war for Champagne to a usurper, Jarl Olafr.

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    However, while this was undoubtedly a severe setback for Rikulfr, it was not terminal. Olafr’s claim had been only on the Jarldom of Champagne itself, so Rikulfr retained the rest of his kingdom-sized demesne. He retained control of four jarldoms, taking up the new lead title of Jarl of Burgundy.

    In December, it was the King of Denmark who was victorious in one of the many wars that had been fought to take the last Árpád family holdings in Galich. Toste would have preferred seeing the two counties go to a Russian vassal, but Denmark remained a firm ally so this border gore was tolerated.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    January-February 1116: The Battle of Oeseus

    As 1116 started, the two sieges of Bononia and Nikopolis continued but Byzantium had once more begun to concentrate significant forces in the area. 15 January saw Theophylaktos returning to Nikopolis with a force of around 8,150 men in two armies (though their arrival would be staggered), just slightly more than Asa commanded. In addition, another 7,000 Byzantine troops were in the near vicinity.

    Theophylaktos attacked Asa with his portion of the army on 19 January at Oeseus, starting a complicated battle that would play out over the coming weeks. On 21 January, the third holding in Bononia was looted by Eirikr and he immediately broke the siege (397 men lost for 245 gold) and started marching to reinforce Asa in Nikopolis.

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    The second Byzantine army of Despot Kosmas reinforced the line on 23 January to almost even up the numbers again after four days of Russian numerical advantage. By then, Oddr’s still- routing army was not far to the north. He would arrive in Bononia as Kosmas arrived in Nikopolis and was also ordered to join the battle, following Eirikr eastward.

    After days of heavy fighting, by 7 February the Russian left under King Refr had been broken but the Byzantine centre and left had also been routed, with the remaining troops involved in a fierce melee. A new Byzantine army under Prince Manual was approaching from the south-east, while Eirikr and Oddr marched from the north-west.

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    Four days later, the last Byzantine flank was in retreat and a pursuit had begun. A day after that, Eirikr’s army arrived to give Asa’s tiring army a great boost.

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    That was enough to stop Prince Manuel in his tracks in Moesia, wisely deciding it would be pointless to reinforce this losing battle against now insurmountable odds. The battle had been hard-fought but East Rome ended up losing half of their troops committed.

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    After Oddr’s smaller force arrived soon after the end of the battle, Eirikr remained in Nikopolis to finish the siege, while the others proceeded on east to raid Dorostotum, where Oddr arrived first on 5 March. Asa would absorb his army when she joined it a few days later.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    March-December 1116

    A significant reduction of the remaining Christian-held Italian lands occurred in April-May 1116 with the victory of King Botulfr of Sviþjod’s conquest of Aquileia from Venice and then King Refr’s holy war victory over Italy just two days later.

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    The long-serving general Radul Drake, of Italian heritage, died from cancer in June 1116 after many successful campaigns over the years, including in the Great Holy War for Hungary.

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    After a break of many months, Toste’s low-key membership of the Fellowship of Hel went up a notch with a new mission being awarded by the Trollmaðr and completed during July-August 1116. Once more, it involved the corruption of another susceptible Godi rather than the kind of depravity the original Dark Fylkir Eilif II had become infamous for in Hellish circles.

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    It was during this time that Toste abandoned his devotion to family values to take up carousing – in large part to try to boost his badly lagging diplomatic reputation. And, to those in the know, better fit the wanton playboy image he cultivated in secret.

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    As the year drew on, more evidence emerged of the slow recovery from the scourges of the black death years before.

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    The raid in Nikopolis was completed in November (465 casualties, 338 gold), with Eirikr moving further east to Mesembria and arriving in December. Asa finished in Dorostotum in December (216 men lost, 255 gold), after which she shifted west to Krizevei in Croatia, arriving there in March 1117.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    January-August 1117

    In January and July 1117, two more successful vassal wars saw the last non-Byzantine territory in central Italy absorbed into the Russian Empire.

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    After his repeated losses to Russia, Basileus Niphon was rumoured to have been assassinated in March 1117, his throne assumed by his young son Alexandros II Makedon – who seemed to be a more promising leader than his cowardly father had been.

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    Meanwhile developments in Paris allowed a sick house to be added to the hospital there – something approved immediately given the terrible ravages of recent plagues, both large and small, on the world.

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    Soon after this, Eirikr’s raid in Mesembria was completed (no losses, 207 gold) and he too shifted west to be ready to support Asa in Croatia, as large Byzantine armies once more began to coalesce on the southern bank of the Danube.

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    Russia’s largest Norse-Germanic ally, England, suffered another suspicious death at the top in July 1117, with King Kettilmund’s under-age son Refil taking charge. Fortunately, some prior dynastic planning ensured the new king was still tied to Russia through proposed marriage bonds between the Houses of Rurikid and Hvitserk.

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    More border gore was eliminated in France in early August with King Refr’s defeat of Poitou and their last county of Lusignan being brought into his kingdom and the wider Empire.

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    With the last King of Hungary gone by this time, Toste’s lawyers sought to recreate the Kingdom of Hungary as a Russian title under the Emperor, but this proved culturally impossible. It would have to remain a collection of counties under various Russian Jarls, dominated by Prince Arnfast, the Jarl of Pest.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    September 1117 – 6 January 1118

    The next few months proceeded fairly quietly, with Eirikr arriving to raid in Rama in mid-October and Asa’s raid of Krizevei ending in mid-November (640 casualties, 248 gold), after which she moved onto Zachlumia, arriving on 4 December.

    The economic recovery continued in France, with Paris being the next Imperial demesne county to flourish in late November.

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    But when Toste decided to celebrate a bit to hard after the next Council meeting, he lost control, embarrassing himself. He managed to avoid any serious injury, but made a lasting enemy of King Botulfr, who lost any remaining respect he may have had for his ‘tosspot’ [old Australian slang for a drunkard] Emperor. If only he had known how deep the moral decay of his Fylkir had actually reached!

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    As 1117 drew to a close, the slow expansion of Norse culture (always slower than religious conversion) now made it one of the larger cultural groups of the known world.

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    Frisia [of some passing interest to me now re my other more recent EU IV AAR] became diplomatically disassociated from the de jure Holy Roman Empire on 1 January 1118.

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    And recent gains (by vassals in the Empire’s name) had seen Russian holdings Europe become more contiguous and larger, especially in Italy and Croatia.

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    All this territorial expansion over recent years had also furthered the spread of Germanicism in the conquered lands, with Marsan (Jan 1115) and Saintonge (Fen 1117) in France; Lausitz and Österreich (both in Feb 1115) in Germany; Brescia in Italy (Mar 1115) and Temes in Hungary (Sep 1115) all converting to the True Faith in this three-year period.

    In early 1118, recent conquests and ructions within the demesnes major magnates of the Empire had seen King Refr of Sardina and Corsica emerge as the most powerful subordinate king, closely followed by King Oddr of Lotharingia and then King Botulfr II of Sviþjod. Jarl Rikulfr (now of Burgundy) led the second tier of magnates by military power and, excluding temporarily powerful revolt leaders, Prince Arnfast had now joined that second tier of vassals, along with the King of Irland and the Jomsviking Warchief, while whoever won the current Moldovian revolt would also figure within that group.

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    Chapter 38: Danes and Demons (January 1118 – December 1120)
  • Chapter 38: Danes and Demons (January 1118 – December 1120)

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    January-June 1118

    The long raid of Byzantine border provinces continued in January 1118 with two armies busy reducing holdings in Croatia, where they had been in Rama since October and Zachalumia in December 1117. The nearest sizable Byzantine army was back in Constantinople at that time.

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    Back at the Imperial Court in Nygarðr, Toste decided to start addressing the nest of malcontents residing in his Council. King Botulfr of Sviþjod has in recent years become an implacable foe of the Emperor and he was only a middling skilled Steward. Despite his position as leading magnate, Toste had had enough of him, dismissing him from the Council on 30 January 1118.

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    His replacement was another of the powerful subordinate Kings, Refr of Sardinia and Corsica – who was a far better steward. And despite predictions he would also be a malcontent, once appointed his prickly attitude evaporated. He became a firm supporter of Toste and a seeker of glory in Council matters.

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    Toste also spent well over five hundred gold improving the opinions of four other Council members while he was at it. He may have use of the Council in future dealings and wanted to at least gain the support of three of them.

    One of those was Jarl Rikulfr; previously of Champagne and still a powerful magnate, if somewhat reduced in means. The 'Sword of the Allfather' now changed his primary title to Jarl of Dauphine, while embroiled in an internal war against the man who had deprived him of his former title.

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    It was in late March of that year that the private diary of Emperor Toste II revealed perhaps the strangest episode so far in the secret history of those Fylkirs who had turned to the dark side. Whether this alleged encounter related to those pursuits or was a more random event is not clear, these many centuries later. Whether the events described happened or not, the saga was not directly attributed to involvement in the Fellowship of Hel and so became part of the public Rurikid record.

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    This strange adventure related by Toste related instead to some ancient cult, and a legendary encounter with some Old God of the deeps.

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    According to his story, he risked death to confront and defeat this watery God, supposedly saving the world from its scourge and earning him the reputation of being a Godslayer!

    In any case, back in the temporal world the memory of the ravages of the Black Death remained powerful enough for a chapel to be put under construction in the Hospital of Paris in May 1118 at a cost of over 800 gold. It would aid in disease resistance in the key demesne province and boost the Fylkir’s public reputation with the Germanic priests. Perhaps prudent insurance given the private activities his reign was soon to descend into …

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    July-December 1118

    The raid of Rama was finished by Toste’s concubine Asa in mid-June (199 gold) and soon after Toste was being hailed as a Viking Ravager for the work done in his name when another siege was won in Zachalumia in mid-July. By that time, the largest of the wandering Byzantine armies was lurking a few provinces to the east.

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    It was with considerable pleasure that Toste was informed of the death of King Botulfr from cancer. The comment entered in his diary says more about Toste than it did about his rival: “And I didn’t even need to do anything to procure the result. I hope it was drawn out and painful!”

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    The new King of Sviþjod commanded over 14,000 men and had a far less adversarial view of his Emperor. Perhaps in time a position might be found for him on the Council – he appeared to be a very accomplished diplomat.
    This also left a vacancy as Court Physician, which Toste decided to recruit for. The successful candidate was learned, though was a drunk and not a renowned specialist healer. Still, he was the best available and was hired. And as he grew more accomplished, Toste might also have recourse to the Dark Healing Arts if it became necessary.

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    The same day, the raid of Zachalumia ended with 256 gold plundered from four holdings in a nine month period. Asa was with the smaller raiding army in Diadora while Eirikr took the larger force north to Varazdin, where they arrived in September.

    It was as the summer was drawing to a close that a phase of increased evildoing by the Dark Grey Fylkir was embarked upon: he had set his sights on rising to the top of the Fellowship, as had his role model the famous Dark Fylkir himself, Eilif II. Chief Hrane of Baden was his partner in crime on this occasion, leading him into the murkiest depths of depravity, which always saw Toste select the most debased course of action.

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    In this case, the consequences were also magnified – both positives in power, tax income and the friendship of Hrane, but also in the outrages perpetrated on the local populace of the capital county.

    In fact, it provoked a nasty peasant rebellion just a few days later. Toste’s demesne levies were mustered from the nearby crownlands; though the largest force remained bottled up in the castles of Nygarðr and Chudovo. Leading general Eirikr was summoned back from Croatia to concentrate and command the force.

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    Completely unfazed by the wages of sin being reaped in Holmgarðr, Toste happily responded to the latest mission from the Trollmaðr of the Fellowship and took himself off the Brittany for more depravity and the unjust spilling of innocent blood!

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    Later that month, Toste once again wallowed in blood as he grasped his way along to the next level of mastery in the Hellish realm.

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    The next revolt to break out was more of a run-of-the-mill nationalist liberation uprising of almost 12,000 rebel scum in eastern Hungary at the start of November. With Eirikr back in Russia, Asa took the larger force over from Varazdin to deal with this outbreak, while the smaller army remained in Diadora under a couple of lesser Jomsviking commanders.

    Eirikr had concentrated the Imperial levies by early December and fell upon the hapless rebels in Holmgarðr as winter beckoned in mid-November 1118. The numbers were almost even but the Imperial arms, training and leadership were greatly superior, despite attacking over a stream.

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    When it was all over, the captured rebel leader discovered the Emperor’s dungeon was empty. Soon after, he would realise with horror why this was so: a fate worse than hanging or even the Blood Eagle awaited him!

    As 1118 ended, the raid in Diadora ended (one holding, 80 gold) as the famous Byzantine general Theophylaktos approached from Rama with around 7,100 men. The 8,600 raiders headed north along the Adriatic coast to avoid combat.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    January-December 1119

    Over in Hungary, the rebels had unwisely split their army. Asa took full advantage by attacking the larger force in Abauj in early January 1119. It was almost a massacre but not quite enough to end the rebellion. So be it …

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    The raiders left in Croatia, having avoided Theophylaktos, headed further north from Senj to resume the raid of Varazdin during January. A few weeks later, Asa caught up with the rest of the Hungarian rebels, easily defeating them by 17 February. The captured rebel leader was sent back to Toste – to be sacrificed to Hel in his quest for dark mastery.

    The raiders had arrived in Varazdin on 1 February under the command of the Jomsviking knight Hakon. Theophylaktos approached once more and this time, the raiders prepared to defend their siegeworks. A sharp battle was fought between 23 March and 28 April 1119 in which the Russians were victorious.

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    Far more significantly, Theophylaktos was captured! After all this time, their battlefield nemesis was removed from the board. The legendary figure was sent back to the capital in chains: only the Emperor could decide his fate, of course.

    It took a few months for Toste to make his decision. Only a small ransom would be payable and in any case it would just return the enemy general (who it was discovered was also a eunuch) to once again torment the Russians on the field of battle. Waiting until the next Þing would take too long – and be too anticlimactic. As would a simple public execution. No, a very special honour was reserved for this most distinguished of prisoners …

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    Things were comparatively quiet for some months, with Asa helping the Irish war on Venice in Krain (three holdings falling to Irish-led assaults) from August to November and the raid of Varazdin continuing.

    Another advance was made in cultural matters in October in the area of noble customs, further promoting vassal loyalty.

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    Around this time, the young King Dag of Denmark proved recalcitrant to Toste’s diplomatic claims. While he left the pagan defensive pact in early December 1119 [following a save game restart] he refused to conclude a non-aggression pact. Meanwhile, the chance to pursue a claim on behalf of Toste’s sister-in-law Princess Rögnfrið presented itself.

    Toste hoped she might be induced to bring Denmark into the Empire as a vassal kingdom if the claim succeeded. And he had been getting a little bored with raiding. The previous work on the Council bore fruit when he was able to persuade a narrow approval for a declaration of war with his casting vote in December 1119.

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    All the Imperial and Vassal levies were mustered, except those outlying in the British Isles or the eastern Steppe. The two standing armies in Croatia (around 21,000 retinue and Jomsviking troops) finished their raiding in Croatia (3 holdings, 185 gold in Varazdin) were sent north and east to the two main Danish territories, while the rest of the levies (over 100,000 in total) gradually concentrated and did likewise.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    January-July 1120

    The Swedish militia (itself 12,000 strong and thus outnumbering the entire Danish army), under the command of General Guðmundr, mustered in Uppsala and was the first to confront the Danes. The largest battle of the war was decided at Dalby in Skåne on 12 March 1120. It was a simple and decisive Russian victory.

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    Guðmundr wasted no time in proceeding to cross the narrow strait to the Danish capital of Sjælland. Meanwhile, sieges were begun in the south at Terebovl, Peremyshl, Beresty, Vladimir Volynsky and Turov between 7 January and 26 March.

    Slesvig (22 March) and Lybæck (30 March) were put under siege by armies approaching from the south while Guðmundr completed his crossing to Sjælland to attack the secondary Danish army outside Hafn on 26 March. This battle was even more one-sided, ending on 13 April with Dag’s capital under siege.

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    It is here that Toste’s Hellish friend Hrane of Baden made a reappearance. Asa became pregnant again in mid-April under Toste’s ‘blind eye’ agreement that had seen children born and legitimised as Rurikids ever since his ‘medically induced castration’ many years before. But he still wanted to know who was playing the cuckoo.

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    Basic inquiries soon revealed it was none other than his Hel Brother Hrane – who turned out to be a pox-ridden cocksman! Toste tolerated this lapse (given his own many and grievous sins) but didn’t like it. And soon after took the chance to force Hrane into the war as some small penance.
    By late May, all the southern Danish counties were well besieged and a few holdings had already fallen. Their one army in the south steered well clear of the far larger Russian contingents and was essentially ignored.

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    A month later, Hamborg (19 April), Fyn (21 May) and Jylland were also all invested, with Ringsted in Sjælland and Slesvig both falling within two days of each other. Denmark had been completely overwhelmed with a few months and now it was just a matter of taking enough holdings to force Dag to surrender.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    July-December 1120

    The end of the war came on 1 August 1120 with the fall of Hleiðra in Sjælland. The war had not even lasted a year.

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    Rögnfrið won her claim and was immensely grateful to her benefactor. But once more, a Russian Emperor had not fully grasped the small print and circumstances of a war’s terms. It was Rögnfrið’s husband, his half-brother Hemming, who was the dynasty member, not the new Queen herself!

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    Rögnfrið’s brother Prince Dag was reconciled and made Steward and Denmark remained independent. Curses! Toste then sought to see if she might be induced to join the Fellowship of Hel, but this failed. A non-aggression pact and then full alliance were concluded between August and October 1120, forestalling a brief Danish return to the pagan anti-Russian pact.

    As the war ended and the levies were stood down, the two standing armies were ordered across to the remnants of Aquitaine, where Jarl Rikulfr was starting a new war of conquest. And a few days later, good news came from the Trollmaðr: Toste’s assiduous evil-doing had resulted in another promotion in the Fellowship, bringing increased status and new, formidable powers.

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    Toste continued to enjoy his Hellish activities, especially given he needed to rebuild his Dark Power after the rigours of his promotion ceremony. But there are some questions best not asked …

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    As another successful year drew to a close, the opportunity for another Great Blot presented itself. As Fylkir, Toste had both a public duty to fulfil – and Fellowship or no, the ceremonies and celebrations were always great fun and brought many benefits to his rule and the Empire as whole.

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    In the middle of the celebrations, another mission was assigned by Trollmaðr Dag. This should be a simple one, which Toste happily accepted. It would remain in progress as the year ended.

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    Toste’s latest ‘de facto child’ was born in mid-November 1120. To the world at large, she was another child of the Emperor – and thus eligible for dynastic betrothals.

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    And by 18 December, the latest blot was over and the benefits reaped.

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    During this time, Toste saw to the tying in of more Germanic kingdoms to closer relationships with the Russian Empire. They might be needed in case Toste decided on another large campaign to take on the rest of the world – not that he had any immediate plans. A betrothal of the 4-year-old Prince Guðmundr, heir to the throne of Noregr and the newly born Grima brought that country out of the pagan pact, and into a non—aggression pact and then full alliance by 1 January 1121.

    At that time, three Russian vassals were at war with Venice, two with Hispania and one with Aquitaine. Just three more counties had converted to Germanicism in the last three years. The Samanid empire of Transoxiana had been split in two and suffered another civil war, while the rising Muradid Shahdom had absorbed much of Mesopotamia and across into western Persia. The perceived threat posed by Russia was gradually lowering.

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    Toste reigned supreme in Russia, his military prowess and intrigue skills having grown significantly in recent years. But his character remained both black and thoroughly unpleasant: the Sword of Jesus was despised and feared by friend, foe and Fellow alike.

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    And his recent promotion within the Fellowship now had him installed as the heir apparent for its leadership.

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    Chapter 39: A Descent to Hel (1121-23)
  • Chapter 39: A Descent to Hel (1121-23)

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    1121 – Helping Friends and Vassals

    The Dark Grey Fylkir Toste II moved into the new year of 1121 still on a mission for the Fellowship of Hel, to corrupt a Godi to the Cause. But perhaps Toste’s grip was slipping a bit, as the mission not only failed but his methods became the subject of wide public knowledge – and opprobrium.

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    He may not have been publicly branded as a demon worshipper but was now considered a ‘depraved manipulator’: a fair description if his own diaries are to be believed.

    As the first of the Imperial raiding armies neared Aquitaine and Hispania, King Refr won another of his expansionary wars of conquest, pushing Russian control down along the Spanish coast.

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    This was followed a few days later by the successful conquest of Venice itself by King Kolbjörn of Irland (whose seat these days was located in nearby Lombardy, part of his extensive lands in northern Italy).

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    By early March, Jarl Rikulfr of Dauphine (formerly of Champagne) was making some progress in his holy war for Aquitaine. It was this campaign the Imperial raiders were there to support: between 4 February and 9 March they assisted in three assaults in Agen to see that county fully occupied by Rikulfr [warscore to +41%].

    From there they headed south and attacked an Aquitanian army in Empuries, easily defeating it for negligible loss. Meanwhile, the second (smaller) Russian raiding army had arrived to the north in Toulouse in early April.

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    In Constantinople, the young Basileus Alexandros II had just come of age and he seemed to be a highly skilled general with a rebuilding army. But had no wife yet and was definitely not a ladies’ man.

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    Noting here the inheritance laws of the Byzantine Empire, as previously enquired about by @Midnite Duke .

    The main Russian army moved on to raid Lleidra next, though Jarl Rikulfr was by then distracted by a civil war seeking to impose elective monarchy on his demesne. The Russians would sack three holdings between 24 May to 5 December for 253 gold.

    Back at the Court, Toste’s old ‘friend’ (and rather dubious Hel Brother) Hrane approached him with a problem. It seemed someone may be out to get him!

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    Despite Hrane’s previous misdemeanours, Toste stood by him and offered his assistance – at no charge!

    The next case of Imperial surrogacy cropped up in August 1121. As usual, even though he used these pregnancies to increase the size of his legally recognised family, Toste wanted to find out who was playing cuckoo this time.

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    Given Þora’s nasty case of lovers’ pox and Toste’s lack of testes, of course the child could not be his physically. But this time, his spies were unable to find out the culprit and he chose not to confront Þora about it. After all, she had license to expand the brood: Toste hardly cared about the morality of it – even if he (paradoxically) despised her at the same time.

    By this time, Rikulfr was outnumbered and in trouble against the revolt in Dauphine [-22%]. Thus the stagnation of his campaign against Aquitaine. Rikulfr disliked the Emperor and was a malcontent presence on the Imperial Council, so Toste was not inclined to waste good troops bailing him out of this predicament. And some elective monarchy would further break up his once over-large demesne down the track.

    The following month, Chancellor Jarl Toste of Bryansk fell victim to what appeared to be a legitimate accident. This allowed the powerful new King of Sviþjod (another Kolbjörn) to be assuaged by being brought onto the Council. He was a strong enough diplomat, though two others had greater expertise.

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    Even if he too would be a malcontent due to his great power; but a happier malcontent, at least! And he soon left the two factions he had been leading and contributing most of the strength to.

    The second raiding army, under Oddr, raided Hispanian Armagnac from September 1121 to February 1122, reaping 181 gold from two holdings.

    When General Eirikr finished in Llieda on 5 December, he was ordered south to wipe out a small Aquitanian army that had been investing Barcelona for some weeks. The next day saw a change (for the worse, in Toste’s view) in the leadership of the Jomsvikings. The new Warchief was no fan of Toste.

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    Eirikr made short work of the enemy in Barcelona in a one-sided skirmish that only lasted 11 days from 12-23 December. After that he would be ordered to leave Aquitaine, bypass Dauphine and head to Rome. A large raid on the Byzantines in Italy was Toste’s next objective.

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    The year 1121 ended with the ever-ambitious King Refr aiming to conquer an enclave on the north African coast from the powerful Tulunids. These days, Refr alone was as powerful as many of the world’s remaining empires but it would be interesting to see how he could win this war with a large Tulunid army in the vicinity.

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    Note: these days I don’t detail all the vassal wars going on, just if they’re larger or especially interesting, plus county gains if they end in success.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    1122 – More Italian Capers

    When Oddr finished his raid of Armagnac in early February 1122, he was ordered to follow Eirikr to Rome to bolster the planned raid. Though the plans for both would later be amended on the way.

    In the east, the diligent King Hroðulfr ‘the Holy’ Rurikid of Volga Bulgaria took advantage of a fracturing of the once-great Samanid empire of Central Asia by declaring war against the Samanid rebels for Kirghiz in mid-February.

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    By that time, Rikulfr was well on the way to losing his civil war in Dauphine [-77%]. Toste’s focus was back at court and family in early March, with two events popping up on the same day. Þora gave birth to another surrogate son – a brilliant prince who would be schooled in struggle.

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    And rumour of a plot targeting the Empress emerged, though no details could be gleaned from the usual reports. Noting Freyja’s growing dislike of him, he gave her a purse of gold … and decided to see if he could trade on her sinful ways to join him in the Fellowship for some nice marital bonding time! But the latter was firmly rejected a few weeks later.

    As Eirikr entered northern Italy, it was decided he could aid Jarl Federigo of Susa in his continuing war against the remnants of the dwindling lands of the Doge. A raid into Parma would give the army a bit of practice on their way south.

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    By mid-April, Refr had managed to get a small army into Beni Yanni – and the Tulunids seemed to have vacated the area!

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    The unfortunate Doge was dealt a harsh blow in Pavia from 19 April to 6 May, when Eirikr surprised and mauled the Venetians in aid of the Susan holy war. After this veritable slaughter, Eirikr would continue south to Rome.

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    In May 1122, reports were coming in of a large smallpox outbreak in northern France, the Low Counties and southern England, with slow and camp fever covering most of Hispania and a large measles epidemic in north-eastern Italy, around Venice. Some of these growing outbreaks would affect Russian movements in the coming months as they sought to avoid the worst hit areas where possible.

    Meanwhile, Oddr had been diverted to Bern where he would raid for coin and to assist a couple of overlapping vassal wars there, arriving in early June. He would raid two holdings for 175 gold before he was called away in early 1123 for a more urgent mission.
    At this time, Toste noticed that the Trollmaðr of the Fellowship, Godi Dag of Ardara, was both ageing (57) and suffering from consumption. This made it imperative Toste remained heir to its leadership for when Dag might drop (or be pushed off) the perch. And would lead Toste down a path of increasing madness, obsession and infamy in following months and years.

    Jarl Rikulfr ‘the Sword of the Allfather’, now 61, duly lost his civil war on 10 July 1122. The forced adoption of elective monarchy inheritance laws in Dauphine would have significant implications for his succession. But at least it meant he could now refocus on his stalled holy war against Aquitaine.

    Eirikr arrived in Gaeta, just south of Rome, on 23 July to begin his raid of Byzantine Italy, with no large enemy army nearby. While he was besieging the first castle, Jarl Federigo finished his holy war against the Venetians, thereby expelling them fully from their former stronghold of northern Italy.

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    Soon afterwards, a Byzantine army of around 8,800 men, commanded personally by the young Basileus Alexandros, appeared in Brendesion in early September and began marching towards Gaeta. Eirikr sat tight for now, confident he had numbers enough to defend against the forces currently in the vicinity. But his scouts would keep a careful eye on the developing situation.

    The day after, Jarl Rikulfr won his holy war, taking Agen and evicting Aquitaine from their last ‘homeland’ county north of the Pyrenees.

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    By mid-October Alexandros had closed up on Eirikr but baulked from attacking, turning back south again. But more Byzantine forces were seen gathering in Dyrrachion (over the narrow Strait of Otranto). Eirikr remained alert, but not alarmed.

    Back at court, Crown Prince Sturla, regarded by many as a genius, came of age on 9 November 1122. His equally brilliant betrothed Gyla soon became his wife. As she was also a very skilled warrior, the Rurikid obsession with recruiting shieldmaidens would soon come into play – even for the presumptive Empress.

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    Toste, the renowned warrior and God-Slayer, was very keen to put his own prodigious military skills to work in the field now he had groomed a full-grown heir.

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    He was soon commanding a flank division in Eirikr’s raiding army. And by 12 December the Byzantines had gathered two large armies that were now approaching from the ‘heel’ of Italy’s ‘boot’. And this time their numbers were enough to seriously outnumber the Russians in Gaeta.

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    The second siege in Gaeta was completed on 18 December and it was decided discretion would win out over valour at that time. A haul of 212 gold had been banked and the Russians marched north back to the hoped-for safety of Rome. And Oddr was called south from Bern to join them, via the San Bernadino Pass and Lombardy, all now safely Russian controlled. Eirikr and Toste made it to Rome on 31 December, ten days ahead of his counterpart Alexandros’ arrival in Gaeta.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    1123 – Doing Hel’s Work

    The year 1123 marks something of a turning point in Toste II’s reign. This is when his relentless pursuit of dark power and the madness it had engendered in him began to become even more obvious to the whole Empire. To say this period would not be considered a glorious episode in the long Chronicle of the Rurikids would be a serious understatement. Many later historians considered it in some ways to be even worse than the malign insanity of Eilif II’s later reign.

    The year kicked off with the outbreak of a new form of epidemic: one of dancing! Even in the middle of an increasingly vicious smallpox epidemic.

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    Next, in perhaps the most egregious episode of Toste’s reign so far, the increasingly rabid Emperor accepted a secret mission from the Trollmaðr to capture and sacrifice a ruler to Hel. Even with only a minuscule chance of success [because I accidentally clicked the ‘do it’ button before I could send the Marshal there to help] Toste tried to jail his most hostile major vassal engaged in an indictable plot, King Kolbjörn of Irland, on 7 January 1123.

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    When informed the King had evaded capture and rebelled, Toste merely cackled maniacally and voiced to Eirikr the hope that Kolbjörn would give ‘good sport’ when captured. This earned him more than one sideways glance in the army’s camp, but none said anything more about it.

    The two standing armies in Italy would converge on the Irish lands of northern Italy, conducting ‘de-toggling’ ceremonies on the way.

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    The Imperial demesne levies in Russia were called up, with around 4,500 earmarked to march north to Irish Dvina, where an Irish army of 1,100 men had assembled. The other 5,600 troops from the Russian Crown Counties would head south to attack Kolbjörn’s holdings in central and southern Russia. And in France, the 6,100 levies from Paris and Rouen would make their way to Schwyz. No vassal levies were called upon: Toste was confident he could handle this one ‘in house’.

    On 9 February, a new King came to power in England, when Ale av Herjedalen won a claim war to remove the long-ruling Hvitserk dynasty from the throne. This voided the extant alliance, but Toste’s eldest child, Princess Guðrun, was available for marriage to the unwed Ale. By 1 March the wedding had been performed and a renewed alliance formalised.

    On 6 March, as the first Russian army on the scene began its siege of Verona, the old and respected campaigner General Oddr died of an apparent heart attack as he rode to site the siege works. The vacancy was filled by Princess Gyla, of course, the latest familial shieldmaiden to be recruited into active Rurikid service.

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    By the end of May 1123 Verona Cremona, Schwyz and Brescia were under Imperial siege in Italy, while holdings in Roslavl and Pereyaslavl were being similarly served back in Russia in this dispersed war.

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    Toste had taken personal command of the levies sent to Dvina, hoping for some direct combat, but by the time he arrived on 13 June the Irish force had escaped by sea and was heading past Kola for the North Atlantic. Toste settled into the siege.

    It was at this point that Toste began to really start sinking into the depths of madness. Having only recently appointed King Kolbjörn of Sviþjod to win him over, he badly offended one of his two most powerful magnates by firing him for an … unusual … appointee as Chancellor.

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    The main Irish armies had mustered in northern Britannia, where they were already in a war with Skotland over Tyrconnel in Irland. They soon made ready to send an army south to attack Russian lands in southern Scotland.

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    England and Denmark were called up to join the war the same day and both had complied with the request by mid-month. Toste would use what aid they might provide and hoped the English would distract the Irish up in the north.

    Against expectations, probably due to other Tulunid distractions, King Refr’s conquest of Beni Yanni was progressing [+13% warscore] by early August 1123, with 9,900 men on the siege (many had apparently marched through Hispania and across the Pillars of Hercules to get there).

    Meanwhile, smallpox still infected a large swathe of Imperial lands and the continuing measles outbreak in north-east Italy kept Russian besiegers to the western provinces of Irish North Italy.

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    In Irland, the English diversion had worked a treat by the end of August. Toste didn’t really care too much how the English fared: he just wanted Kolbjörn distracted.

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    And both the Scots and now the English were soon doing exactly that in battle (both of which the Irish would eventually win).

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    With Dvina fully occupied by mid-October, Toste began a long march south to the Irish lands to the east of the Sea of Azov. Pereyaslavl and Roslavl had also been fully occupied by then, with Chortitza and Sharukan under siege before the end of October as the sieges in Italy made good progress.

    Toste’s eccentric ways got even more so as he headed out of the cold north in late October. His horse’s amusing antics as Chancellor had him make Glitterhoof his court jester! Courtiers just shook their heads (quietly and carefully) when informed of this latest Imperial folly.

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    As the uneasy feelings of dissolution and unrest pervaded some parts of the Empire, which many now felt to be rotten at its heart, the peasants of Vitebsk rose in revolt as November 1123 began. Toste, not yet even out of Dvina, diverted his army in that direction, hoping that ‘meat would soon be back on the menu’.

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    On 9 November, Toste received the unwelcome news that another of Hel’s Seiðmaðr’s, one Patrician Hrörekr, had eclipsed Toste as designated heir to the leadership of Hel’s secret society [355.31 v 354.1 member score]. This would not do! A plot to kill Hrörekr was soon hatched, but his associates proved hard to recruit as conspirators, even for gold [one backer, 59.5% plot power].

    But Toste also changed his focus from carousing to intrigue to assist both with plotting and his standing in the Fellowship. By 23 November he was back in his position as Hel’s heir [score 363.1]. But he kept the plot going, part from malice and part to try to remove Hrörekr as a competitor.

    In England, in late November the Irish had largely secured Irland and faced off against the English over St George’s Channel, which the English were in the process of trying to cross. But the alliance had broken down after the smallpox epidemic claimed the life of Toste’s firstborn.

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    By the end of 1123, 17 Irish holdings had been occupied and Kolbjörn was ready to sue for peace, requesting talks himself. Perhaps he anticipated spending some time in prison and maybe a ransom or exile down the track. After all, he was hardly the first or only magnate to head up one of the many pretty harmless factional groups of the realm. Little did he suspect the true reason for the surprising war he’d found himself in …

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    Yet even with this inglorious outrage, Toste had yet to reach the bottom of his personal barrel of rottenness.

    NB: the five religious conversions to Germanicism during this three-year period will be summarised at the end of the next chapter. There had been two in 1121, three in 1122 and none in 1123.
     
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    Chapter 40: A Reckoning with the Gods (1124-26)
  • Chapter 40: A Reckoning with the Gods (1124-26)

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    1124 – After the War

    The peace with Irland – and King Kolbjörn’s grisly end after his surrender on 1 January 1124 – presented Dark Grey Fylkir Toste II a chance to both steady the realm and rein in his own spiralling descent into Hel. And perhaps he would take advantage of this moment to create a watershed in his personal affairs.

    To start with, he disbanded most of the levies that had been mustered for the Irish War except for those he had been commanding up in Dvina. Those 4,500 men were now marching south to snuff out the latest peasant rebellion that had broken out in Vitebsk in November 1124. And, just to make sure, 3,000 more Imperial levies were called out in Holmgarðr, who would be picked up by Toste on the way through: more than enough to wipe out the almost 3,000 poorly armed peasants currently trying to sack Vitebsk.

    Toste’s plot to kill Hel rival Patrician Hrörekr of Væni was going nowhere [59.5% plot power] by this time. And a hefty bribe of 57 gold to the most susceptible of the potential co-conspirators was not quite enough to sway them to assist.

    By mid-January, the combined standing raiding armies (Retinue and Jomsviking troops) had gathered in Mantua, where the troops were merged and then split into two hosts of around 10,000 each under Princess Gyla (Toste’s daughter-in-law) and Asa (his concubine). They then both headed south to Rome, the stepping off point for an even larger raid on Byzantine Italy.

    But the tendrils of darkness reached out to Toste once more in early February, corrupting his soul. Even as his humours rotted from within, the promise of more dark power (and the fear of losing it) lured him into another ritual of evil just a few weeks later …

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    … from which he emerged stronger than ever in military prowess!

    And hot on the heels of this success, Toste was presented with a new mission by Trollmaðr Dag. His greatest challenge yet – and one he felt compelled to accept. He just could not say no to Hel.

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    A search of the Fellowship’s membership roll found no female members of childbearing age willing to accept an invitation to the Imperial Court in Nygarðr. So the malign Fylkir tried to recruit one of his concubines he felt most susceptible to joining, Þora, instead.

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    The initial contact seemed to go well enough, however when Toste tried to induce her to take the next step Þora baulked. He would have to wait some months before he could try again on another potential ‘vessel of Hel’.

    Toste was at least able to put his now prodigious martial abilities to good use when he attacked and defeated the rebels in Vitebsk over two weeks to 31 March. It was of course a walk-over, with the rebel leader immediately sacrificed to Hel in a nearby secluded cave that night.

    The new Italian Raid began in Gaeta on 13 April, where Toste took command of Asa’s army, with her and the formidable Eirikr on either flank, to resume the business interrupted back in December 1122. The second army under Gyla continued south, arriving in Neapolis a short time later.

    In June, Toste was ready to try recruiting to Hel again. This time, he had invited a young woman with a few exploitable sins to court and he sought to woo her to the dark side. Again, to no avail, when Ylva rejected his first cautious advance. This mission was starting to prove more difficult to achieve than he had anticipated – but this would not stop Toste trying.

    At around the same time, the Fylkir was made aware of rumours of a plot to assassinate him. He made no alteration to his routine but did wonder who the plotter might be. Perhaps either Patrician Hrörekr or some other ambitious or jealous Hel Fellow?

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    Nothing new emerged over the next few months. Toste therefore decided to set spies on the Trollmaðr himself. Even if he wasn’t the plotter, perhaps some opportunity might arise to see Dag join their Dark Master early!

    In early October, yet another attempt to recruit a sinful courtier to the service of Hel for his current mission failed: rejected at the first approach. As the end of November beckoned, Toste was starting to get desperate. One dark night he mused that Chancellor Glitterhoof was a female … nothing in the mission’s fine print said the child of Hel had to be ‘of woman born’! Toste only had to provide the vessel, after all ...

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    ... the only requirement was to recruit the poor filly into the Fellowship, then Hel could have their way. Alas, she may not be smart, but Toste could find no suitable sin on which to base such an approach (which would had to have waited for the ‘cooling off period’ to expire anyway). Thwarted again! And if anything indicated how low the emperor had sunk by this stage, this was surely it.

    In the meantime, the new King of Irland was able to finish off his longstanding war against King Åke of Skotland to secure Tyrconnell in December 1124, further tightening the Russian hold on the isle.

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    The year ended with Toste ending his murder plot against Patrician Hrörekr – to concentrate on another rival as designated heir to the Fellowship. The new target was Seiðmaðr Hemming ‘the Holy’ (a rather ironic public nickname) who had now supplanted Toste as the heir apparent. He also stopped spying on Dag, which had turned up nothing useful.

    And the raid in Italy had proceeded without incident over the recent months as holdings fell and the treasure was sent over the border, either to Rome or the enclave of Amalfi.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    1125 – A Downward Spiral

    By 3 January 1125 nine plotters were favourably considering joining the plot against Hemming: it seems he had a large amount of people more than eager to see him eliminated!

    Over on the eastern Steppe, King Hroðulfr’s war against the Samanid rebels was successfully concluded in February, adding two more provinces to the Empire – and modestly increasing the threat level Toste had been working assiduously to reduce for some time now.

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    The slow advance of technology reached another milestone in March, with improved construction practices allowing for a significant (and expensive) expansion of the great Hospital of Holmgarðr – already one of the finest such establishments in the world.

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    A week later, yet another Hel recruitment to bear the child of Hel failed. Toste had thought that girls just wanted to have fun, but it seems his idea of such differed markedly from those he had been approaching so far!

    More bad news followed soon after, with one of the many conspirators spilling the beans on the murder plot, just as the lead agent was about to strike.

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    The attempt failed, although there was no proof left to tie Toste to this particular episode. He not only tried again, but was able to find another four conspirators ready to join in an already powerful plot.

    With this expanded conspiracy ready to strike again in early May via another agent, Toste was hopeful it would all go to plan this time.

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    Alas, the execution of the ‘accident’ was botched, with Hemming making an escape before he could plunge to a convenient death. Was there no justice in this world!? And the plot was revealed (again). Now, Toste set his spies on Hemming to see if they could dig up anything to assist.

    While this second failure was frustrating, Toste’s latest recruitment effort bore fruit (literally) when Ingrid Naddoðr accepted an invitation to join the court: she was already a Hel Sister! The impregnation ceremony was soon under way.

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    His spies had not revealed much useful information about Hemming by mid-August – so Toste decided to invent some vile perfidy instead! <Warning: unpleasant event material below>


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    I've censored this a bit, which I don't usually do, for the sake of decorum. Toste really is despicable.

    In the wider world, against the odds King Refr of Sardinia and Corsica had succeeded in gaining the first permanent Russian foothold in North Africa! This could be very useful in the future, either for raiding or a base for major territorial expansion.

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    Months passed as Toste awaited the birth of Hel’s Child. It seems this idleness had led to the loss of his arbitrary trait – which in turn impacted adversely on his Hel ranking, placing him down at fourth in line for the leadership behind a new heir (Gydja Sif), Hemming and another new contender, named Kettilmund. Despite his great efforts, his leadership campaign seemed to be faltering further.

    Perhaps the murder plot against Hemming might help a little: third time lucky?

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    But as the year lengthened yet another new ploy failed, even though the plot had a couple of new adherents and was stronger than ever. Was this Loki’s work? The judgement of the Gods? But Toste, now completely obsessed, continued.

    On 2 December 1125, one of the great magnates of the era yielded his long life to the effects of gout: Jarl Rikulfr ‘the Sword of the Allfather’ of Dauphine and formerly of Champagne was dead at the age of 65. He had suffered some losses in his later years, but was still one of the most powerful magnates of the realm. However, his recent civil war loss that had introduced elective inheritance laws into his realm now saw it split between two rival contenders on his death.

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    The main title was inherited by Jarl Folki Rurikid, while the rest of the more minor titles went to Rikulfr’s grandson Jarl Rikulfr II af Holmgardr of Savoy. And Toste was pleased enough to see a little bit more division of old Rikulfr’s formerly monolithic demesne.

    The advisor slot vacated by Rikulfr was then allocated to King Kolbjörn of Sviþjod, to placate him for his earlier sacking as Chancellor – and force him out of two quite powerful factions he had been leading.

    Later that month, Toste used some more material provided by his spies – who may have been right about Hemming after all, though no one now knows the truth of it – to blacken his Hel rival’s name with his Jarl. Even further. Needless to say, Hemming was not a fan of his emperor by this time!

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    1126 – Hel’s Child

    January 1126 saw Toste’s obsessive plot to remove Hemming continue – and continue to fail! In January and again in April, two attempts by mercenaries to ambush him were unsuccessful. One was identified as being sponsored by Toste, the other not, but that hardly mattered by then. With nothing more being discovered by the spies, they were called off. But still Toste pursued his man.

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    King Sigbjörn of Noregr was apparently killed by persons unknown on 15 January, with his nine-year-old son Guðmundr coming to power under a regency. Prudently, he was already betrothed to Toste’s daughter Grima – now five and the useful product of his unfaithful concubine Þora.

    At the start of April, a large Byzantine army was spotted after crossing the Strait of Otranto into southern Italy. The armies of Toste and Gyla, by then raiding in Salerno and Interamnion, ended their raiding sieges and made arrangements to meet in Benevento.

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    The raids in Gaeta, Neapolis, Benevento and Salerno had netted more than 1,200 gold in the last two years from the sacking of 15 holdings.

    Soon after, another peasant revolt, this time in Belo Ozero, saw the entire Crown Counties levy in Russia called out to crush them.

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    Toste was struck by the slightly smaller Byzantine army in Salerno literally the day he had been due to slip across the county border, on 13 April. Another 2,500 Byzantine troops were on their way.

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    By the 18th, Toste was outnumbered but holding strongly enough, as Gyla reached Benevento and continued on to Salerno to reinforce her father-in-law.

    Perhaps it was some kind of omen, but that same day a daughter, Aleta, was born to Ingrid the Hel Sister. The Spawn of Hel had arrived!

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    Toste felt an enormous rush of dark power course through him as this difficult mission was successfully completed at last.

    On the battlefield, he was duly joined by Gyla on 5 May and two weeks later, even though the Russian left had been forced from the field, their combined army set the rest of the Byzantines to flight.

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    After the pursuit was done the Romans had lost over 9,200 men and the Russians over 5,600. A bloody but decisive victory that would once again deplete the Byzantines for some time to come. Gyla stayed in Salerno while Toste continued on his interrupted northward march to Benevento.

    But just a few days after the battle, Toste began to suffer some more serious effects from his excessive use of dark power: what Hel gives could also be taken away. And (due to the depletion of his intrigue skills) he now ranked even further below Sif and Hemming in the Fellowship’s leadership stakes.

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    Just a few days later, another of the conspirators advised they were ready to strike Hemming – as they were forced to repeat previous methods again. With the same result as before.

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    Toste now tried some dark healing to see if he could cure some of his many afflictions. All it did was increase suspicion about him while he fell exhausted into his campaign bed in Italy. All this made him feel even worse.

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    While in Italy, the Byzantines managed to rally far more quickly than the Russians had anticipated, returning for another match. So in early July, Toste turned around and started marching back south to reinforce Gyla in Salerno, in a mirror image of the first battle there.

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    Battle was joined on 10 July, with Gyla defending stoutly as her emperor marched hard to reinforce her. He arrived on the 26th and by the following day, the Byzantine line was beginning to collapse.

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    It was all over by 6 August and this time the now heavily outnumbered Byzantines had suffered a crushing defeat, with Russian casualties far lighter than in the first round.

    While that battle was being fought, a force of 13,800 Russian levies smashed around 2,800 peasant rebels where they had been chased to Torzhok, with their leader captured and later sacrificed to Hel on 28 July.

    King Refr’s earlier success in North Africa led to another war of expansion being declared on 16 August. Not against either the Sunnis of Hispania or the Tulunids, but against the Shia Caliph Maghan of Mali!

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    He had apparently won a war against Hispania in May 1124, after which he had also created some new emirates for his vassals. And Maghan commanded a powerful army of nearly 18,000 men.

    Then in August 1126, things started looking up a little for Toste. Suspicions about his dark doings began to ebb again and then, after so many tries, his plotting against Hel rival Hemming ‘the Holy’ finally succeeded!

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    Then Jarl Folki Rurikid of Dauphine added another little chunk of France (or Upper Burgundy, at least) to the Empire.

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    Thus, in early September 1126 Toste had turned a corner: the Hel Child had been born, he’d personally fought and won two large victories against the Byzantines in southern Italy and perhaps best of all there had finally been success in the long-running plot to murder one of his chief rivals for the right to lead the Fellowship.

    So it was entirely appropriate that at this point the corrupted and reprehensible Emperor and Fylkir Toste II Rurikid keeled over, stone dead, as he sat on his camp stool. Killed by the very stress his vile use of the dark powers had induced a few years earlier.

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    The Emperor was dead – long live the new Emperor Sturla! Chancellor Glitterhoof died (possibly of a broken heart - she was never the brightest of animals) the same day.

    The inheritance passed smoothly to the 19-year-old Sturla. With no child produced yet from his short marriage with Gyla, Toste's brother Prince Arni remained heir apparent. And Sturla took up a new focus to improve his rulership, while also making it a high priority to sire and groom an heir of his own.

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    Gyla would provide great support as the new Empress – though she remained on active duty with the army for now. And for some reason not known to history, was very impatient: perhaps it had something to do with being sent on campaign with her father-in-law? Or having to resist the advances of some 'pants man'? One can only speculate at this distance in time. Young Prince Arni was less impressive than his brother, with whom he got on moderately well.

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    The last five or so years had seen the pace of conversion to the dominant Germanic faith pick up once more, with over 17 more counties converting, from the eastern steppe to France.

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    And of course the great empire Sturla inherited was bigger than ever before and the largest the world had ever seen.

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    Chapter 41: The Life and Times of Fylkir Toste II (1078-1126)
  • Chapter 41: The Life and Times of Fylkir Toste II (1078-1126)

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Birth, Succession and Early Reign: 1078-1109

    Toste II Rurikid was born to Fylkir Arni and his concubine Kraka Momchilsdottir on 5 August 1078, in the seventh year of Arni’s long reign, which lasted for the best part of three decades more.

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    Toste proved to be quite an adept military student, coming of age in 1094 and marrying his long-betrothed future Empress Malmfrið Naddoðr Einarrsdottir, renowned for her brilliance of mind, the same day.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

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    Arni died on 22 December 1107, marking the start of what would prove an often grim reign, dominated by Toste’s increasing propensity to illness of body and mind. But the early years seemed to be standard fare for Russian successions.

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    Even as his reign began at the age of 29, Toste’s character was already well developed – and it did not bode well for the future.

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    At this time, the Russian Empire was already world-straddling and a slow but steady expansion, largely through the additions made by marcher lords often with Imperial assistance, would see both its borders and the influence of the Reformed Germanic Faith grow during Toste’s reign.

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    The Russian Empire as it stood at the end of 1107.

    After being able to hold a Great Blot at the very start of his reign in early January, Toste followed this up soon after with the commissioning of a runestone in honour of his late father. So far, so good …

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    But the onset of a severe case of the Great Pox in mid-1108 soon led to one of the many strange features of Toste’s reign. Waking from the ministrations of his court physician, King Botulfr II of Sviþjod, the Emperor found he had been castrated!

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    He had just the two children and one heir at the time but he would remedy this throughout his reign by a ‘nod and a wink’ approach to the dalliances of his wife and long series of concubines. They would have affairs and give birth to children he knew to be bastards, but acknowledged them all as his own, so they could form part of the Rurikid ‘dynastic resource’ for both successions and marriages.

    Toste’s early rule also continued to be beset by a series of nasty illnesses, though adept medical treatment saw him through these periods of uncertainty.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Crusade, Illness and Lunacy: 1109-1113

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    The ‘Shadow Papacy’ of Urbanus III had been characterised by a succession of increasingly farcical and failed crusades. One more such episode broke out in mid-1109, with the 3rd Catholic Crusade for Italy.

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    While dealing with this latest quixotic Papal intervention, Toste continued to endure his long bout of the flu, which would not seem to clear up.

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    It was during this time or personal troubles for the Fylkir that he decided to embark on a dark path taken by one of his infamous forbears, Eilif II ‘The Dark Fylkir’. In August 1109 he approached the Fellowship of Hel to inquire about joining and was a confirmed member within a month.

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    The Rurikid Chronicle of course mentions nothing of this part of Toste’s life and, for the sensibilities of our current readers, the vast majority of this black mark on his reign has been similarly excised. However, for those who wish to discover all the secret details of this time, the history of the middle period of the Rurikid dynasty Blood and Empire: A Clash of Civilisations (Bullfilter, Paradox Press, 2022, Ch 35-40) can be consulted.

    Illness continued to hamper Toste’s efforts during the Crusade, but more treatment by King Botulfr would see him through this testing period.

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    By August 1110, the Crusade was defeated and Toste received his ‘official nickname’ of ‘The Sword of Jesus’ (here interpreted to be in the nature of ‘The Hammer of the Scots’ and such like: the sword smiting the Christians in this case, not fighting for them).

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    But still, the Emperor’s latest case of ‘the long flu’, now more than two years in duration, would not pass. Treatments would assist with the symptoms but could not address the underlying cause.

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    Even by September 1113, this bout of flu continued and perhaps contributed (though his underlying character traits and more recent dalliance with the dark powers was no doubt the primary cause) to the state of mind that led many to describe Toste from this time onwards as ‘stark raving mad’.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Strange and Cruel Behaviour: 1114-23

    In the grand sweep history, the years 1114-17 were comparatively quiet in Russia. Magnate wars (of expansion and against each other), Imperial raiding (often in support of those wars), domestic escapades and dark missions for the Fellowship went on.

    But one strange episode in 1118 – perhaps not directly connected to the Fellowship and that made it into the public domain at the time – is worth retelling. A series of arcane events eventually led to Toste embarking on a foolhardy but ultimately successful adventure to kill a ‘great sea god’.

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    It ended in Toste being publicly acclaimed as a ‘Godslayer’, greatly burnishing his martial reputation and powers of intrigue.

    The period also included frequent and heavy raiding of Byzantine border provinces all along the Danube and then later in Italy. During this time, the famed Byzantine general Theophylaktos was captured in one of the many rather large battles that would be fought periodically between the two great empires.

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    Like many war captives during this time, usually captured rebel leaders, after a few months the unfortunate general disappeared from Toste’s dungeon – never to be seen again, except by the fellow Hel devotees gathered for his ritual sacrifice!

    Next came a ploy by Russia to try to claim the throne of Denmark on behalf of Princess Rögnfrið when King Dag left the pagan defensive pact in December 1119. Toste hoped to then induce Rögnfrið to become a vassal of the Russian Empire.

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    In early 1120, Toste celebrated his second Great Blot, while the war against a completely over-matched Denmark was prosecuted to an easy victory that August.

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    But once again, the Rurikid lawyers had not been sufficiently across the small print and, while grateful, the now Queen Rögnfrið (neither an existing Russian landholding magnate nor actually of the Rurikid dynasty, just married to one) refused to be vassalised.

    Unknown to the public at large, the Trollmaðr of the Fellowship of Hel issued a new mission to Toste in January 1123: to ‘sacrifice a ruler’. Because he had a legal cause to imprison the already hostile King Kolbjörn of Irland, Toste tried to have him arrested but botched the operation completely.

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    This in turn led to an otherwise avoidable and counter-productive internal war of rebellion as the unfortunate and doomed Kolbjörn was ground into the dust, mainly in his northern Italian strongholds.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Final Years – a Descent into Absurdity and Death: 1124-26

    The war against Irland was all over in just under a year. Kolbjörn, no doubt expecting a degree of justice as one of the major Russian magnates, albeit a now disgraced one, would have been unaware of the real reason for the war and surrendered himself to Toste’s ‘mercies’. He should have known better!

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    Then came another mission from Hel in March 1124 to stain the last years of Toste’s reign – even further.

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    With the most ambitious Hel mission yet proving very hard to fulfil, another of Toste’s absurd follies – the appointment a few years ago of his loyal horse, Glitterhoof, as Imperial Chancellor – led to a brief exploration of seeing her impregnated with the Spawn of Hel!

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    Fortunately, Glitterhoof’s innate goodness prevented this path from being pursued any further. But by mid-1125, a suitable host was finally found.

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    The birth of Hel’s Spawn in April 1126 seemed to be a crowning achievement of Toste’s Hellish career and granted him enormous dark power.

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    But the putrefaction of Toste’s soul was now causing him very serious health problems and impacted upon his standing in the Fellowship even as his dark powers grew.

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    An attempt to use some of that vast dark power to heal some of his many afflictions in June 1126 failed abjectly. If anything, it seemed to make things even worse for him physically and engendered suspicion among the members of the court.

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    Then, during August and September of that year, things seemed to be turning around for the ‘Dark Grey Fylkir’. First, suspicions about his rumoured dark dabbling retreated once more. Then, after at least half a dozen unsuccessful attempts, a long running plot to murder his mortal enemy and Hel rival Hemming of Kolomna finally succeeded.

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    But within a week, Toste’s accumulated problems finally overcame him. He died of an apparent stroke at the age of 48.

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    Not since the passing of Eilif II had the passing of an Emperor been met with such great relief by the court at Nygarðr and (to the extent they were aware of what went on in the capital) the wider populace of the Empire.

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    Another boom in conversions to Germanicism in the last five years of Toste’s reign had, despite his devotion to the Dark Side, nonetheless seen the reach of Reformed Germanicism spread further than ever before.

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    Similarly, northern and central Italy had fallen more completely into Russia’s control, as had southern France and now north-eastern Hispania, with a first Russian toehold in North Africa being made.

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    It was this world and Empire that the new Fylkir Sturla inherited as his father passed from shadow to full blackness in September 1126.
     
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    Chapter 42: Fylkir Sturla - Early Reign (1126-32)
  • Chapter 42: Fylkir Sturla - Early Reign (1126-32)

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Court, Magnates and Domestic Issues: 1126-29

    In the days after his accession to the crowns of the Empire and Fylkirate, one of Sturla’s first tasks was to choose a new Imperial Chancellor, given the simultaneous death of Glitterhoof with her mad and bad erstwhile master. Jarl Folki of Dauphiné was a more conventional choice: both powerful and highly competent. And a member of House Rurikid.

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    Another high priority was to produce an heir of his own: three concubines Þordis af Holmgarðr, Elin af Brisay and the noblewoman Ylva Eskildsdottir were soon in residence. None were nearly as outstanding as the Empress Gyla – but she was yet to produce a child after three years of marriage.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    At the start of 1127, the Kingdom of France was fully incorporated into the de jure Russian Empire.

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    And soon after, Sturla was able to call a Great Blot to set his new reign off on a high. One of those to be executed was the imprisoned leader from a recent rebellion (Sturla taking a far more conventional approach to such prisoners than his ill-omened father).

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    It was a particularly boisterous Blot, with at least three scandalous incidents among the attending vassals – so a good time was had by all!

    The last piece of Upper Burgundy was taken by Chief Hroðulfr ‘the Sword of the Thunderer’ of Lyon on 4 March 1127, making the borders in that region even neater.

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    And then probably the biggest domestic news of this period broke in May 1127, with the death of the former Crown Prince and Sturla’s uncle, the ill-fated Jarl Arnfast ‘the Sword of Tyr’ of Pest. It was cancer that finally claimed him, but it could have been one of a number of other serious problems that did him in. As Arnfast had produced no male heir before his medical castration, this meant a large amount of titles flowed to Sturla.

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    And due to Sturla’s administrative abilities, he was able to keep two of the inherited counties for his own demesne, handing the rest over to key magnates to boost their opinions of him. Heves and Pest would be kept, the more exposed Csanád would be handed out to King Refr of Sardinia and Corsica – now the leading Russian magnate.

    Following this redistribution, most of the big Russian magnates were already supporting the new Emperor – despite the residual poor opinion many of them had of Sturla’s late and unlamented father.

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    Of the three big beneficiaries, two withdrew from their factional entanglements soon afterwards. Even this early in the reign, the number and power of factions had dropped significantly and none posed any threat. Sturla could now call upon 142,000 men if needed, over 103,000 of these being vassal levies.

    A survey of the number of duchies Sturla held led an ‘extra’ from the recent inheritance to be left over – with the Jarldom of Ungvar being handed to the Chancellor, Jarl Folki of Dauphiné, on 3 July. Sturla’s vassal now liked him even more!

    Another important development came a few days later, when the famous but often troubled King Oddr of Lotharingia, one of the ‘big three’ Russian magnates, died not from his cancer but an accident (probably not an assassination in this case).

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    This led to the break-up of his massive demesne basically into halves between his two sons, Faste and Arni. The latter inherited the Kingdom of Germany, leaving Faste with the bulk of the holdings but also a more dispersed demesne. The levies of both would soon begin to rapidly expand as they settled into their new roles.

    This now left just two ‘uber-vassals’ – King Refr and King Kolbjörn of Sviþjod. A few months later, after the dust had settled, King Hjalmar of Irland (the next most powerful of the rest) was awarded Oddr’s vacated seat on the Council. And fences between House Rurikid and the Irish were thus fully mended.

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    Sturla was young and out to father as many children as he could at this time. So far, his wife and concubines had been unable to fulfil his requirements for an heir – so he turned to others, having a brief affair with one of his courtiers’ wives and then adding lust to his sin of greed in January 1128 (to the benefit of his fertility and intrigue ability). And by that time, his potential army numbered over 150,000 men from all sources.

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    In December, arrangements were made to enter into a formal alliance with young King Guðmundr of Noregr. This would have some unforeseen consequences a little time later. Later that month, Warchief Sörkver of the Jomsvikings (for Cadiz) and Jarl Rikulfr of Savoy (for Granada) began wars against Emir Suleyman of the Almeriids in southern Hispania.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    In January 1128 builds or upgrades of hussar training grounds were begun in Heves (573 gold) and Pest (430 gold), and new sick houses started for the hospitals in Ladoga and Torzhok (702 gold each). This big new program of works left only 1,284 gold in the treasury, with retinue replacement costs quite significant. So work on a new pharmacology lab for the Holmgarðr Hospital and further expansion of the retinue were put on hold. It meant raiding would remain an important source of revenue to fund any further projects.

    April 1128 saw an ominous approach to the sinful but – thankfully – orthodox Sturla by a suspected member of the Fellowship of Hel. The son would not be revisiting the sins of the father!

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    In early July, Sturla learned that his dalliance with Gunnhildr of Chartres had resulted in the birth of a son, Þorfinn! Sturla would like to have claimed and legitimised him, but her husband believed him to be his own. At least Sturla knew his manly bow was not shooting defective arrows!

    A consolation was that the raiding being done in his name had led to Sturla being acclaimed as a true Viking Raider. A very handy boost to his reputation, combat and martial skills.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    1129 saw another kingdom made part of the de jure Empire after 100 years of Rurikid rule.

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    Then in February, Þordis announced she was pregnant. Good news indeed – but she had also discovered she had cancer (for which she was receiving treatment), so it was a tense time as Sturla hoped for Þordis to survive and maybe an heir to be born.

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    By March, enough cash had been raked in from raiding that a new medical academy (675 gold) could be added to the Hospital of Holmgarðr. It would be as good for disease prevention as a lab and would have benefits for all three Russian technological research areas.

    From March-April 1129, a personal feud played out between Sturla and the new King of Lotharingia. For reasons unknown, the young emperor had taken an intense dislike to King Faste. Fancying his own personal prowess with an axe, he took the risk of challenging Faste to a duel by Holmgang! Nobody would be calling him ‘chicken’!

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    Fortunately, this bold (or rash) action worked out well for Sturla. Poor Faste ended up wearing the same type of mask his father Oddr had worn for most of his life after taking a very nasty blow to the face, before yielding to escape with his life. By this time, the armies of the two Yngling brothers had come into their full extent, making them both equally powerful vassal kings of the Empire.

    In mid-April, Jarl Rikulfr’s designs on Granada suffered a big distraction when Jarl Folki decided he would try to take a couple of pieces of Savoy from him. Folki would start with the better chances on paper, anyway.

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    To the relief of all, Þordis was able to carry her pregnancy through to a successful birth on 9 September 1129. Sturla had himself a new heir to groom, with the infant Crown Prince Olafr welcomed into the world. [Note: the invalid Court Tutor was soon replaced with someone both clever and functioning.]

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    King Refr continued his expansionist ways with another North African conquest from Mali in October 1129.

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    This was followed a few weeks later by success for the Jomsvikings in Cadiz: another new Russian outpost in Muslim lands. Jarl Rikulfr still toiled away in Granada.

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    There was more magnate in-fighting soon afterwards, when two of the most powerful kings came to blows over Trier. On paper, Refr might have some problems given the relative strengths and the isolation (from him) of Trier in the north. But he was a wily fighter and not to be underestimated.

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    Soon after this, a cheeky marriage proposal came from England: a proposal for a matrilineal marriage with the infant Crown Prince Olafr! It was declined with a withering look and a curt wave of the imperial hand.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Raiding: 1126-29

    Early October 1126 found the combined Russian raiding armies, totalling over 16,000 men, in Salerno when the main Byzantine army of a little over 10,000 was spotted to the north in Neapolis. After some manoeuvring and feints in the vicinity, the two armies intercepted and attacked the still somewhat demoralised Byzantines in Neapolis in mid-November, hoping to see them off with a decisive battle.

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    This was achieved by 7 December – but Russia’s leading field commander Eirikr af Kazarki did not survive the battle, dying of natural causes even as the pursuit of the heavily defeated enemy had begun.

    After that, the two armies broke up: Asa took a smaller force (around 6,600) to recover in nearby Amalfi while Jarl Rikulfr took the rest (around 10,100) up north to Ankon to continue raiding, where they would arrive towards the end of January 1127.

    The northern army (now 12,600) stayed in Ankon until it was done raiding in August 1127, at which time it started marching to Hispania for the next phase of raiding. The smaller army, now numbering around 7,300, stayed in Italy to besiege Interamnion. The larger force would arrive at its northern Hispanian destinations of Albarracin and Saraqusta in February-March 1128 after splitting into two parts, to begin raiding the rich lands of the Hispanian Revolt. By that time the first big building projects had been commissioned and new revenue was needed.

    Back in Italy, a Byzantine army a little smaller than the Russian raiders’ (now commanded by Warchief Sörkver) was spotted in mid-March 1128, approaching Interamnion from the south: they would be able to attack just before the Russians could get away, so Sörkver stood his ground in favourable terrain and braced for the assault.

    By the time the Basileus attacked on 1 April, a Sicilian army was in Salerno to the south – and it would eventually make its way up to join the battle. Sörkver hoped to win his battle with the Basileus of Byzantium himself before either escaping or fighting off the then-smaller Sicilian army if it continued on. The plan seemed to be working by 30 April, when the final Byzantine divisions had been routed with the last two Russian divisions in pursuit.

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    Alas, Baron Evangelos arrived on just before the Russians could finally take the field. He crashed into the tired Russians and turned a seeming victory into a costly defeat as the raiders were forced to rout to the north after losing more than half their number in a small but epic battle.

    Once his rout finished, the hapless Sörkver had been ordered back rebuild numbers and then help to deal with a peasant revolt in eastern Poland. But in August 1128 he had the great misfortune to blunder into a recently arrived army from the Armeniacon (of all places), then involved in a separate war in Austria. A very hasty retreat was called, limiting the losses against a force almost twice their size.

    Looking back at a vassal map, I’ve since realised that Armeniacon was the Byzantine holder of nearby Slavonia, thus explains why they were in the area and hostile to Russian forces, as well as being at war with Franconia.

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    The final raiding target in northern Hispania was Alto Aragón, where the Russians would combine again from July 1129.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Noregr and Denmark: 1128-30

    In a surprise move, in August 1128 King Guðmundr of Noregr launched a bold bid to wrest Nidaros from Danish possession. This pitted a current ally with the Queen the Rurikids had placed on the Danish throne but been unable to vassalise. The two looked quite evenly matched on paper, but Nidaros was isolated and easily accessed by the Norwegian army.

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    A few weeks later, the expected call to arms came to Nygarðr and Sturla felt obliged to obey the terms of the alliance he had agreed. But the nearest troops were Sörkver’s battered contingent then running away from its defeat in Austria. The main Danish army was currently moving along the Danube to the north-west. Sörkver was ordered to avoid both and continue on to Poland. Money was still an issue, so the Hispanian raid would continue.

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    Sturla let the two Scandinavian foes fight it out over the next year. By August 1129, Noregr was on top [warscore +26%], investing Nidaros unchallenged as the Danes stayed way to the south in Passau (for reasons best known to them). There they too ran afoul of the hostile Armeniacon army. At first the Danes were outnumbered (5,000 to 3,900) and in trouble, but a ‘co-belligerent’ Franconian relief force of around 2,800 arrived in early September to tip the scales in the Danes’ favour. They won by 27 September, but only had around 3,200 men left.

    By then, Buðli had taken command of Sörkver’s former army, who were back from duty in Poland and now had around 5,800 men. They had camped just to the north of Passau to await the outcome of the battle and now pounced on the depleted and exhausted Danes. Battle was joined from 12 October to 2 November 1129, resulting in a heavy Russian victory (87 Russian vs 1,309 Danish casualties). The victory now had Russia’s contribution [19.27% for the battle] to the war effort rated at almost half [total warscore +61%].

    Buðli then headed back north-east, beginning a siege of Danish Vladimir Volynsky in February 1130. He continued with that effort until the end of the war in August of that year. Nidaros became part of Noregr and Sturla took his part of the glory for being on the winning side.

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    But this story had twists in its tail, as we shall see later in this chapter.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Court, Magnates and Domestic Issues: 1130-31

    The next big building project was the pharmacology lab for the world-renowned Holmgarðr Hospital (607 gold) begun on 3 February 1130. This depleted the treasury back to around 1,100 gold, so with constant high retinue replacement costs some raiding, where possible, was still necessary for future progress and to provide a reserve for contingencies.

    More good news came in March 1130, with another of Sturla’s concubines, Ylva, falling pregnant. That month King Refr, still at war with Lotharingia at that point, was in trouble: not on the battlefield but affected by the ‘dreaded smallpox’. Would he survive the war, win or lose?

    Then disturbing events at court began to manifest themselves in April. After more than eight years of quiet, Aleta (the product of Toste II’s “Hel Spawn plot”) was incapacitated after a bizarre incident. Was some kind of demon now on the loose? Or was it Aleta herself that was the rumoured ‘demon child’?

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    King Faste of Lotharingia, still at war with King Refr, made alliance with Jarl Rikulfr of Savoy (himself at war in Granada and against Jarl Folki of Dauphiné) in June 1130. Both would soon be dragged into each other’s wars as nominal allies, though it was unclear how much they could do for each other.

    Ylva gave birth to a daughter, Þordis, in October 1130. The babe – Sturla’s second acknowledged child – was healthy, though was born with dwarfism.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    In June 1131 some of the treasury reserve came in handy when the chance came to build a third castle in Paris. When it was finished, Sturla could either keep and develop it in exchange one of the new Hungarian counties or perhaps give it away to his son or a lord he needed to woo.

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    There was sad news in October when Sturla’s sister Linda, aged just 19, died from pneumonia. She had led a quiet life and never made it into the annals of the Rurikid chronicles, but Sturla still mourned her passing.

    The next magnate to make an expansionary move was King Arni of Germany. In October 1131 he launched a de jure claim war for Leiningen against the still-independent Duke Engelbert of Franconia. With well over three times the levies to call on, Arni should win that one easily enough. By that time, King Refr had recovered from the small pox and was ahead against the Lotharingia-Savoy alliance in his defence of Trier [+24% warscore].

    But back in Nygarðr, strange and shocking events were still brewing …

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    The Holy War for Slavonia: 1130-32

    Another opportunity was present in March 1130 as Byzantium went through one of its periodic civil wars. This meant the Rebels were not members of any defensive pact – perhaps some territory could be chipped off before the Emperor could defeat them (as he surely would eventually)?

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    In preparation for such an opportunity, Asa’s raiding army (around 6,500) in Hispania was ordered over to the Croatia in late April 1130, leaving a similarly sized force to finish off the siege of Alto Aragón. After the peace with Denmark in August, by 7 October Asa was in position. A Holy War for Slavonia was declared the next day, with Buðli called down to assist.

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    Varazdin was besieged by Asa from 23 October and the raid of Alto Aragón finished on 11 November, with Sörkver taking charge of that army to head over to the fighting in Slavonia. On 30 November Sturla’s personal levies in Hungary (2,830 men) and France (8,149) were called out and also sent to Slavonia. In large part because a large Byzantine army had been spotted just to the south – fighting the rebels, but also hostile to the Russians. On 1 December, King Guðmundr of Noregr dutifully heeded an earlier call from Sturla to assist in the war.

    By mid-December Basileus Alexandros was leading almost 13,500 troops against the unlucky survivors of the Armeniacon (down to 644/12,297 full strength) army just to the south of Varazdin. Asa broke her siege and headed north to Vas to await the approaching reinforcements, around 10,000 of whom were approaching from Hungary. And just in time, as Alexandros soon won his battle in Krizevci and was marching on the now empty Varazdin, arriving there on 20 January 1131.

    Asa then took command of the reinforced army in Hungary and by 18 February was in Krizevci with over 17,000 retinue, Jomsviking and levy troops, laying siege while Alexandros suffered winter attrition in the heights of Varazdin.

    It was then that news came from Noregr: King Guðmundr had apparently been assassinated, replaced by his younger brother Gandalfr. This voided the marriage ties with the Rurikids, breaking their treaty arrangements but not Noregr’s existing commitment to the current war. No new betrothal was possible with the new king.

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    At the end of June 1131, the French Rurikid levies had arrived and Asa (the army nominally under Jarl Rikulfr’s command) decided to break a second siege in Krizevci to march against Alexandros with almost twice his number. Another one-sided battle followed from 19 July-12 August 1131. Sörkver’s raiders had recently arrived, but they would ‘remain toggled’ so that some more revenue raising could be sought nearby while they remained on call for emergencies.

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    NB: the Alexandros captured was a lowborn commander, not the Basileus!

    The Russian army was split in two after the battle, half going back to Krizevci led by Asa, the other staying in Varazdin under Buðli. Between 20-27 September, all three nominal garrisons in Varazdin were overcome with quick assaults to fully occupy the county [warscore to +51%]. Buðli was soon heading south-east along the Danube towards Bononia, a Rebel county with a small Byzantine army (4,700 men) besieging it. Jarl Rikulfr, now in charge of the 7,000 raiders, began investing Venetian Krain at the end of October.

    Buðli attacked the Byzantines in Bononia on 10 December 1131 and took four weeks to administer a hard-fought but decisive victory. The allied Norwegians took command of the battle [by some random Paradox of the battle mechanics].

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    During that battle, Asa finished fully occupying Krizevci [warscore +71%] by 22 December. She was in the process of leaving to central Italy to attack more Rebel counties when a large Byzantine army (9,000 men) was spotted in Nicomedia on 1 January 1132, heading for Bononia with the battle there not quite finished. However, Buðli prevailed in Bononia a week later and the Byzantines halted, not fancying the odds.

    By mid-January 1132, Asa had split off a contingent under Þorgil to reinforce Buðli in Bononia then took the rest towards Rome. The raid of Krain and siege of Rebel Bononia continued, with Buðli keeping an eye on the nearby Count Cosmas’ army.

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    The next twist in the Scandinavian Saga came on 6 February 1132, when the clearly still offended Queen Rögnfrið launched a bid to make the new King of Denmark a tributary. This time, Sturla could safely stay out of the conflict.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Rebellions: 1126-32

    10,500 Imperial levies were called out in the home counties on 1 October 1126 to deal with an extant peasant revolt in Olvia but in the end they were not needed. Just as they were nearing Olvia in February 1127, an army from Moldau engaged and defeated them, with their leader thrown into the oubliette.

    Next came another peasant revolt in Lyubech in December 1127 and one to the north in Dorpat in February 1128. It was these outbreaks Sörkver was responding to by June 1128, where he was to blunder into the Armeniacon army in Austria en route. A local force from Vitebsk was able to extinguish the Lyubech revolt in July 1128.

    But two holdings would fall to the rebels in Dorpat before Warchief Sörkver could reach it on 27 February 1129. There, he was able to get some satisfaction by drubbing the rebel scum (148/5,538 Russian v 864/2,683 rebel casualties) with some help by around 1,200 Livonian troops who joined mid-battle. The rebellion was all over by 15 March.

    The next rebellion broke out in Czersk in Poland on 1 December 1130, also to be defeated by autonomous local Jomsviking levies by 1 October the following year. The last uprising of the period began in Vestergautland on 1 December 1131. It continued while Sturla waited for some local vassal, perhaps the King of Svipjod, to deal with it.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Conversions to Germanicism: 1126-32

    In 1127, Agen (southern France), Torres (Sardinia) and Mallorca (Western Mediterranean) and saw Odin’s light. The next year, it was Yatvyagi (Poland) after which Seer Ingjald (who had not managed the conversion himself) moved onto proselytise in Kulm, then Rosello (southern France) and Chur (Swiss Alps). After a quiet 1129, conversions resumed in 1130 in Sopron and Spis (Hungary) then Cremona (Italy). Teschen (Poland) followed in 1131, then Seer Ingjald converted Kulm (Poland) in March moving next onto Würzburg, and Yamalia (Steppe) followed after that and finally Cadiz (Hispania) in December 1131. A total of thirteen more counties had joined the Germanic Faith in the last five years.
     
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    Chapter 43: The Men in La Mancha (1132-38)
  • Chapter 43: The Men in La Mancha (1132-38)

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    The Holy War for Slavonia and the Krain Raid

    In February 1132, Sturla’s opportunistic grab for Slavonia (started against the Byzantine Revolt in October 1130) was well progressed [warscore 78%] as the main army camped in Bononia to siege it down. By April the Revolt was hanging in against Basileus Alexandros II [55% in the Empire’s favour] as Sturla tried to close out his campaign first. The fall of another holding on 3 April brought an end closer, but the Revolt refused to yield.

    This changed on 1 June 1132, as Viseslav was taken while Byzantine armies circled but did not attack the Russians in Bononia. The peace was enforced on Eupraxia of the Byzantine Revolt and the inconvenient slice of Slavonian land was absorbed. And the Fylkir had earned himself an excellent new nickname for this victory done in the Gods’ names. While undoing all the hard work of recent years to reduce his threat perception.

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    The raid in Krain (Venice’s last county) continued while the third army was in central Italy – and would no longer need to attack Revolt land there to end the war. Varazdin was allocated to King Arni of Germany and Krizevci to the Marshal, Jarl Sverker II ‘the Effeminate’ of Yatvingia – both powerful Council members.

    The levies were disbanded and the remaining Retinue and Jomsviking troops in Bononia and Italy invoked the Sacred Raiding Toggle, then began marching for Hispania. There, raiding riches beckoned and Russian magnates were involved in wars of expansion, which Sturla would also assist with where he could.

    The raiders in Krain took another four holdings and 277 gold through to November 1132 and they too started marching for Hispania. These and the future raids in Hispania ended up taking a great many prisoners, with many a ransom paid over these years. The longest serving prisoners with no hope of ransom were gradually released, but there were usually 30-40 in the dungeon at any one time.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Court and Domestic Issues: 1132-35

    The new Barony of Étempes in Paris was completed on time and under budget in March 1132. For now, despite the hit on vassal opinion and tax revenues, Sturla hung onto the castle, but did not seek to spend money improving it.

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    A betrothal was made for Crown Prince Olafr (then just two) to the infant Svanhildr Þorgilsdottir, daughter of the Jarl of Bjarmia – a distant Rurikid relation of Olafr’s and already showing signs of being very quick-witted.

    In June 1132 the Seer Godi Ingjald of Tikhvin caught rabies, becoming incapacitated and dying the following month, replaced by the young Gydja Rögnfrið of Jamborg – not the most learned cleric but absolutely loyal, who would help shift the numbers on the Council in Sturla’s favour.

    Empress Gyla was confirmed pregnant in January 1133 and in August gave birth to her first children – twin daughters, Elin and Guðrun.

    In mid-May 1134, the growing treasury was able to sustain another major expansion of the Imperial Retinue. Eight new regiments were raised in Holmgarðr: three cavalry, two shock and one each of defence, housecarls and skirmish. In total, this would eventually provide another 150 heavy cavalry, 600 light cavalry, 250 pikemen, 350 archers and 650 heavy infantry.

    Seeress Rögnfrið indeed proved to be extremely loyal to the lusty Fylkir: the unmarried Gydja dropped a few hints and very quickly, an affair had begun. And it would prove to be more than a passing fancy.

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    Among many conversions to Reformed Germanicism during these years, the best of all was Rome itself: once the seat of Catholicism, it saw Odin’s light on 5 April 1135. A thunderstorm in the city that day was said to be the sound and sight of the Gods celebrating.

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    By that time, Pope Urbanus II was 14 years dead, his 48-year reign marked by abject failure, madness in defeat and the near extinction of Catholicism. His successor Callistus II had died in 1133, with Benedictus VI now reigning the ‘Empty Papacy’ from the Roman catacombs. He would soon be succeeded by the young Pope Martinus II in January 1136 (aged only 36 at the time of his election).

    The relatively new Imperial demesne county of Pest was flourishing by that month and a few weeks later embraced Norse culture. This was broadly positive, but now effectively wasted the money that had been spent earlier on the hussar training ground there. Still, it was progress.

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    Sturla’s personal development was not neglected either: from July to November 1135, he apparently had an epiphany and emerged a renowned poet – and improved diplomat.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Foreign and Magnates Wars, Successions and Politics: 1132-35

    King Arni of Germany had launched a de jure war for Leiningen against Duke Engelbert of Franconia in October 1131. It took just over a year for him to win the war and eliminate another small ex-clave inside the Empire’s borders.

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    In December, King Hroðulfr of Volga Bulgaria launched a claim war for the crown of Noregr against young King Gandalfr. This war would still be in progress five years later, as was Denmark’s existing war to make Noregr a tributary.

    Not unusually for even the best Spymasters, the incumbent Freyr was murdered by a rival in January 1133. This presented an opportunity to promote King Hroðulfr to the Council in an appointment he was well suited to.

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    Far from being disaffected presence in the Council, as many had predicted, Sturla's kinsman was well disposed after the appointment and would prove to be a pragmatist in Council matters. Which was good, because at this time Sturla was attempting to pass a new tax law to help boost revenue and he needed all the help he could get.

    In mid-1133, King Refr of Sardinia and Corsica was defending in two wars – and the one against King Faste of Lotharingia and his ally Jarl Rikulfr of Savoy for Trier had turned from a likely victory for Refr to almost evenly balanced. At least Refr’s separate defence against Dauphine over Vermandois had ended inconclusively a few weeks before when the claimant died. But a new revolt war on behalf of one of his vassals, Jarl Toke II, had just broken out. Refr was under pressure.

    By the end of 1133, the tax vote was still unresolved. Sturla approached King Hroðulfr and offered a favour in return for his support in Council for the next three years. Three weeks later, the law was passed.

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    King Refr recognised his hold on isolated Trier was unsustainable and conceded it to King Faste in mid-September 1134.

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    But Faste had less than two weeks to gloat: Sturla’s maimed personal enemy had been bitten by a rabid dog and by 27 September he was dead. Sturla could only chortle happily when he heard the news: how appropriate!

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    His replacement broke the long line of Yngling dominance over Lotharingia, stretching back to 1067. With elective monarchy now the succession law there, King Tyke of House Styr was elected to replace him. He did not like his Emperor much but at least he continued the recent Lotharingian tradition of mask-wearing kings.

    Basileus Alexandros eventually won his civil war in October 1134 – but this would not be the end of his troubles in this period of Byzantine instability, as we shall see later.

    The Samanids remained one of the worlds great powers, despite being divided by civil war in February 1135. But such was the strength and ambition of the great Russian Viking lords of this time that Jarl Federigo of Susa (based in northern Italy), one of King Refr’s vassals, was able to muster a large invading host to declare an invasion of Persia.

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    Though Federigo’s reach and ability to project enough power that far away was of course questioned by many at the time.

    The aftermath of the latest Byzantine civil war had seen the Doux of Athens – who held lands in Italy and the Balkans – assert his independence for Constantinople. Unfortunately for him, this meant he provided a tempting target for the most powerful of Sturla’s vassals.

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    The young Doux found himself in big trouble as 1135 drew to a close. King Kolbjörn had extensive lands in Italy and used these as a base to launch a conquest of Foggia.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Hispanian Campaigns and Raids: 1132-35

    In June 1132, the Almeríid Emirate in southern Hispania was beset by two Russian invaders. Jarl Rikulfr II of Savoy (supported by Lotharingia, Irland and Sviþjod) was well advanced in his conquest of Granada started in October 1127 [+69%]. King Bagge ‘the Holy’ of Bohemia’s ambitious prepared invasion of Andalusia (begun in July 1130) was still in its earlier stages [+15%], while his target had the support of the Umayyad Emirate.

    It was these conflicts – and the rich lands around Cadiz – that had drawn Sturla’s ‘professional’ armies to southern Hispania. The first to arrive was a force of 8,900 men under General Buðli which arrived in Granada in early May 1133. Duke Rikulfr of Savoy had completely occupied the county, but a peasant revolt had broken out. The Russians struck and defeated the 3,400 peasants for fewer than 80 men lost.

    By 22 May they had resumed their march to Seville, where they aimed to begin raiding for loot, arriving there the next month. Meanwhile, the Bohemian army was to the south reducing in Umayyad Malaga.

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    It seemed the defeat of the peasants in Granada had also allowed Jarl Rikulfr to complete his conquest. This new outpost would open up more nearby rich lands to some very lucrative raiding.

    11 June 1133 saw the first Russian raid commence in Seville – and Sturla’s men would still be marauding southern Hispania more than four years later. As the raid of Seville progressed routinely for the rest of the year, the other two Russian armies had been heading west, combining in Tarragona before marching to join their comrades, initially holding in Granada on 31 December 1133.

    A few weeks into the new year, they would be on the march to Almeria, where an Almeríid -led force (now including the Calatayuds as allies) was trying to undo King Bagge’s earlier work. By this stage, Bagge’s invasion was still making little progress in net terms.

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    Jarl Rikulfr II (also a skilled Russian commander) led a large force of Sturla’s elite troops, while the Bohemians had joined Buðli in Seville. In one of the major battles of the period, Rikulfr attacked the enemy coalition on 2 March, eventually being joined by the Bohemians just as the pursuit was ending.

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    Although it was a crushing victory, one of Sturla’s commanders was killed as he got out ahead of his troops during the pursuit, being ambushed and slain. A siege of Almeria began – this time in support of Bohemia’s war effort rather than for plunder.

    The castle of Almeria fell on 16 August, with Pochina and Baza assaulted and taken within the next week, fully occupying the county. Meanwhile, Buðli’s raiders had finished in Seville and moved on to start looting Aracena on 2 September. Rikulfr did the same in Umayyad Almansa on the 15th.

    The Bohemians meanwhile won a battle in Malaga against the enemy’s main allied army in October and then a skirmish in Seville in November to keep their effort progressing. By the end of January 1135, Bagge was making good progress, with his Emperor’s assistance [+38%].

    Buðli was back in Seville on 1 June 1135, this time assisting the Bohemians to reduce the rest of its six holdings, of which they had taken one so far. Five assaults from then until the 27th saw few Russian casualties and the remaining five holdings taken, fully occupying Seville for Bohemia [+76%].

    The next move was to follow the Bohemians to Algericas, where they were once more taking on the enemy coalition off their own bat. Buðli arrived on 13 July but for reasons unknown did not join the fight, which Mayor Milic had well in hand anyway. The battle was won and the new round of sieges begun on the 31st.

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    Two Bohemian-led assaults followed and by 15 August two holdings were in Bagge’s pocket [+91%]. Arriving in La Mancha for a new raid on 27 October, a new commander – General Odo – was in charge of the other raiding army. When a small enemy army slipped into Seville in November, Asa had assumed command and took her men north on 20 November to evict them before they could retake any of the lightly garrisoned holdings, leaving Mayor Milic to finish off in Algericas. That battle would be brief, with all 1,000 enemy troops wiped out from 2-11 December, for only nine Russian casualties.

    During 1133-35, 16 holdings in Seville (Jun 1134-Jul 1135, 541 gold), Almeira (266 gold, Mar-Aug 1134) and Aracena (369 gold, Sep 1134-Jun 1135) yielded a total of 1,453 gold in sacked holdings alone, not counting miscellaneous raiding and ransoms.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Court and Domestic Issues: 1136-38

    After a period where most news had been good for the Fylkir, at home and abroad, things took a grim turn in early 1136. Crown Prince Olafr was struck by a severe case of dysentery, which left the six-year-hold heir bedridden and in great danger. Court Physician Hrolfr was called in to assist – but his treatment proved ineffective and only seemed to worsen the situation.

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    Not wanting to be without a doctor at this time, Hrolfr was not imprisoned but did get a chastening tirade from the Fylkir. Then Sturla could only look on helplessly as his only son died just a few days later. The illness had proven swift and deadly. Once more, Sturla’s brother Prince Arni became the heir presumptive, as Sturla’s other three children were all girls.

    The Emperor's response was swift: two of his older concubines were set aside, with younger women brought in (18 and 19 years old) – one of them sharing the Fylkir’s lustful desires. But the Emperor was also able to find some solace in the arms of his wife, Empress Gyla. Their love blossomed in the aftermath of the tragic loss of Sturla’s only son.

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    Then something came out of the blue to give Sturla an alternative option as heir: his lover, Seeress Rögnfrið, gave birth to a healthy boy on 14 September 1136. Sturla moved quickly to legitimise him but had to seek advice from the annals of Wiki the Red when the expected acknowledgement of him as the new heir did not come automatically.

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    Eventually, he was advised the problem was not legal but mysterious and spiritual. He must sleep under the stars for a night and commune with Odin himself. In his dreams that night, all was explained to him, though he could not remember the details when he awoke. But by 28 October, the new Crown Prince Toste was confirmed and acknowledged to all. [NB: the wiki said you have to save, quit and reload to get this arrangement to ‘register’, for some reason. But it worked alright.]

    Sturla had happier thoughts on his mind as the year ended, however. 1136 was finished off with another Great Blot, setting up 1137 to be one of improved vassal opinion and significantly increased army morale.

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    At home, Torzhok was now flourishing under Sturla’s rule, while King Hroðulfr used his favour with the Emperor to excuse himself for prosecution of a crime which could have seen him arrested but of which Sturla could not care less. The man was dishonourable and a known murder … but a kinsman and handy spymaster. Sturla shrugged and moved on.

    Empress Gyla bore another child in September 1137 – a third daughter. Sturla had hoped for a ‘spare heir’, but it was not to be – yet, anyway.

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    At least his martial reputation and popularity were further boosted when all the raiding being done in his name earned him the title ‘Ravager’ soon afterwards.

    In mid-December, the Baron of Okulovka (the third barony in Holmgarðr) died without an heir, the title reverting to Sturla (putting him now two over his demesne limit). He finally decided to award his brother (and still second in line to the throne) Arni a landed title, also giving him the ‘spare’ Barony of Étampes in Paris, removing another irritant to his vassals.

    The new year brought another component kingdom into the de jure Russian Empire after 100 years of Rurikid rule, Lapland no longer part of de jure Scandinavia.

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    Building Works. As raiding loot flowed in and technology expanded within the Imperial demesne counties, new building projects were commissioned during periodically. From 1133-35, the more recently acquired counties of Heves and Pest saw military improvements made, though no more hussar training grounds would built, as Norse culture began to permeate Hungary as well. After Pest’s hussar training ground became redundant when it adopted Norse culture, a new housecarl training ground (282 gold) was commenced in November 1137 to replace it.

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    In 1136-7, it was improving medical technology that allowed the hospitals of Rouen and Toropets to have new sick houses built.

    By 8 April 1137, the expanded sick house’s completion brought that county’s hospital to Level 3 (14% epidemics resistance), while that in Paris was already slightly more advanced (L3, 16% resistance). In Russia, the great Hospital of Holmgarðr was the most advanced in the Empire (L4, 35%), followed by Ladoga (L3, 29%), Torzhok (L3, 19%) and then Toropets (still at L2, 4%), where their sick house was yet to be completed, finished in December that year (to L3, 14%).

    Religion. And the years since mid-1132 saw another 13 counties brought into Odin’s light, from Spain in the west to the eastern Steppe and Siberia.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Foreign and Magnates Wars, Successions and Politics: 1136-38

    By October 1136, the long-serving Warchief and Russian commander Sörkver lost his position after a factional coup (the same way he had come to power himself 15 years before). But his successor was in for a turbulent time, with two revolts breaking out to challenge him in March (from the recently ousted Sörkver) and then another in June 1137.

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    Germany managed to win a claim on East Anglia from Lotharingia in November 1136, after two and a half years of warfare, further expanding German influence in England and bringing them on a par with Lotharingia in terms of their military power.

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    In Byzantium, Basileus Alexandros' cruel nature must have led him into some excess, as from December 1136 he bore the epithet ‘the Evil’. And things would continue to get worse for him. By June 1137, the biggest revolt yet of his reign had broken out and this time the rebels significantly outnumbered him, controlling most of the Anatolian heartland.

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    While two more small breakaways had joined the Doux of Athens to become independent. For now, they were members of the anti-Russian defensive pact, but Sturla’s covetous Eye fell on them – and would stay there, looking for some opportunity to remove a little more border gore from the east of the Empire.

    King Arni of Germany, as was becoming habitual in that part of the Empire, died soon after his recent victory, overcome by the stress of his responsibilities. As had happened in Lotharingia, the Yngling dynasty was ousted here as well, with a new king from House Hjort elected to succeed him on 20 June 1137.

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    The next major jarldom to suffer a bout of instability was Moldau. A long-running rebellion ended on 9 August 1137 with the Jarl Dyre deposed, replaced by the new Jarl Þordr. Who lasted just ten days before himself being deposed in a coup by one Sveinn of Cholet.

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    The chaos continued with a fresh revolt on 11 September to reinstall the usurper Þordr! It looked like Moldau would remain internally preoccupied for some tome to come yet.

    Another second tier vassal helped fix an anomaly caused by a Norwegian inheritance of the old Rurikid and then Polotskian county back in 1073 by the then King Sigbjörn Ulfing of Norway on the death of his father, Guðmundr, who had been a Russian vassal of the Jarl of Polotsk. Sigbjörn taken Satakunda in Noregr when he became king, then had granted the county to Steinn av Hålgoland in 1119. His son Hrane had inherited the county as a child of two in 1124.

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    Two years later, King Sigbjörn’s had likely been murdered, with the current King Gandalfr taking the throne of Noregr. Then the current Jarl Sumarliði II of Polotsk, a Swedish vassal, had reclaimed it in the de jure war just finished, leaving Hrane as chief but back under Polotskian, Swedish and Russian rule.

    Another changing of the old guard occurred on 1 December 1137 when the favour granted King Hroðulfr II became moot: there was a new (and rather mediocre) ruler of Volga Bulgaria as his son too the reins of power in the east (and a range of other holdings in Europe, too).

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    As with his recent choice of Seer, Hroðulfr’s replacement as Imperial Spymaster Chief Ulfr of Charolais was not quite the sharpest stiletto in the rack but he too was very loyal. This reinforced Sturla’s growing control of the Council.

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    In late 1137 Sturla began a rather complicated (and perhaps far-fetched) plot to see if he could gain some kind of claim on the recently independent Syrt. The Count of Syrt had just the one daughter, who was his heir. The Orthodox noble would not willingly be vassalised – and arranging a ‘mixed religion’ non-matrilineal betrothal with his daughter may be difficult.

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    But it would be impossible to attempt while her current betrothed was alive. So a plot was hatched to get rid of this inconvenient suitor, to see what might then be possible.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Hispanian Campaigns and Raids: 1136-38

    Asa’s smaller (just under 8,900 men) raiding army arrived to loot Umayyad Qurtubah on 7 April, fighting a ten-day battle against a smaller Umayyad force, with only ten Russian casualties lost while the enemy had 1,211 out of their 1,678 troops killed. Odo’s larger army continued to siege down the rich holdings of La Mancha.

    Even as Asa fought the skirmish against the Umayyads, King Bagge wrapped up his campaign and in so doing seized the entire remaining Almeríid Emirate. He took direct control of Seville, Almeira and Algericas straight away.

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    Aracena was revoked from the defeated Suleyman ‘the Shadow’ a month later, but Mubashir of Niebla remained in charge of his county under Bohemian rule – for now. This major addition to the Empire also expanded the swathe of bordering counties Russia could now raid for loot. And propelled King Bagge well into the top tier of first-order Russian magnates.

    Bagge soon made his move on Niebla in July 1136 but Mubashir refused the revocation and raised the flag of rebellion. It would take until June 1137 to overcome him and the county was revoked a month later, while Mubashir languished in Bagge’s dungeon.

    The raiding continued through to early 1138. From 1136 to then, La Mancha (Oct 1135-May 1136, 316 gold), Qurtubah (Jan 1136-Jun 1137, 533 gold) and Badajoz (Aug 1136-Mar 1137, 304 gold) were all completely looted. New raids in Calatrava (from 31 Jul 1137, 91 gold) and Uhshununbah (from 20 Nov 1137, 98 gold) had already started to yield loot from the first holding sacked in each. Many more prisoners were also ransomed as Sturla’s dungeons overflowed with potential money-spinners. In these two years, 19 holdings had fallen for 1,756 more gold in pillaging alone flowing into Russia’s coffers.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Peasant Revolts: 1132-38

    The usual sprinkling of revolts occurred during this time. The West Geatish uprising in Vestergautland was dealt with by a passing Danish army, ending in July 1132. Just a month later, a rebellion in Verona followed: this was very poor timing as Buðli was passing nearby at the time on the way to Hispania. The battles saw to rebellion snuffed out by 13 September (Russia 107/8,922; Rebels 2,153/3,642 killed).

    In February 1133, a rebel force of 3,700 rose up in Zyriane on the Steppe but was defeated by October as local forces from Volga Bulgaria dealt with the scum without the need for Imperial intervention.

    The next outbreak did not occur until April 1135, with Nizhny Novgorod the latest trouble spot. As nothing had been done by the local lords by the end of August, Empress Gyla was put in charge of a force of the new retinue plus a limited levy muster, consisting of about 7,400 troops to deal with the 3,300 rebels. But just before they would arrive in November, the Jarl of Ryazan had managed to muster his troops and defeat the rebels without the need for Gyla’s support. The levies were sent home and the retinue army (now around 2,000 strong) headed back to Holmgarðr.

    Finally, in June 1137 2,300 peasant rose up in distant Ili, on the eastern Steppe on the Samanid border. With no local reaction by late October, Jarl Rikulfr II of Savoy was given command of the Holmgarðr-based retinue and began a long march to the east, just in case they would be needed.
     
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    Chapter 43A: Bonus Material
  • Chapter 43A: Bonus Material (1137-38)

    Here are some images to support some of the questions asked after the last chapter, a bit of summary material I couldn't squeeze into the last chapter, plus some back-casting to an event not noted at the time but become relevant in the next chapter.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    The Munsterian Prepared Invasion of Mauretania

    This is the Irish Munster, and was begun some time around mid-1137 by Duchess Rikissa 'the Witch Hunter' Rurikid of Hlmyrek (with other holdings in north-east Italy and Moldau). She is a vassal of the King of Irland and was not tagged as a character of interest, so the pop-up about this invasion was either missed or ignored at the time.

    U5mXBQ.jpg

    By July 1137, the Rikissa's invasion fleet (or one of them anyway) was in the Strait of Gibraltar, while the Russian raiders fought a small local unit in Calatrava.

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    Rikissa had two armies operating in Tangier by January 1138.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    The Jomsvikings in Spain

    For @streaker77 - the Jomsvikings only have Cadiz in Spain for now, though have been trying (and so far failing) to gain counties in northern Spain, near their holdings in Aquitaine.

    SEppLA.jpg


    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    World Maps

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    The known world in February 1138. Note it is Mali that controls most of Mauritania at this stage, hence they are the target of Rikissa's invasion. As noted previously, even Russian sub-vassals are now capable of mounting their own substantial operations.

    O22Hlw.jpg

    Cultural spread in February 1138.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Sturla and his Top Vassals

    Despite their great strength, as individuals even Sturla's main royal vassals are no match for his overall strength. Note that those outlined in dark red are rebel vassals, so are essentially temporary until one side or the other wins these internal rebellions and civil wars.

    ffxhot.jpg


    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Aleta

    Aleta seems to have been very quiet for some years now. Just hopping a little way forward into the next period, no more Hellish events seem to have occurred by her 12th birthday.

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    Chapter 44: A Turbulent Life (1138-41)
  • Chapter 44: A Turbulent Life (1138-41)

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Peasant Unrest

    As the ‘New Guard’ retinue army (2,100 men) approached the Volga Bulgarian heartland on its way to Ili in June 1138, Sturla called out the Volga Bulgarian Kingdom's levy to assist – another 7,200 men these days! King Tyke of Lotharingia (the top ranked general at that time) took command and arrived in Ili in mid-April 1139 (such were the great distances involved) with 9,400 men. The rebels had fled by then, so the two lost holdings were retaken by assault from 22-26 April for the loss of around 340 troops.

    It took until 23 July to corner the rebels at Alishi in Karluk, where most of the scum were killed for two dozen Russian casualties, ending the rebellion with the hanging of their leader. The levies were disbanded and the New Guard started the very long march back to Holmgarðr.

    Another rebellion broke out in the east in July 1140, in the northern steppe county of Narim. The New Guard, then most of the way back to the capital, turned around and headed back east again. They had still some way off from Narim by May 1141.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Spanish Raiding

    The raids of Calatrava and Uhshununbah, begun in 1137, continued on until June 1138. One army headed to Mursiya, while the other went toward Barcelona, hoping to aid the Jomsvikings in Navarra. The Mursiya raid began on 8 August but by then the Jomsvikings had conceded defeat in their latest attempt to gain territory in northern Spain.

    The raiders continued that way anyway, to pillage instead, arriving in Saraqusta on 23 November 1138. They uncovered another ’strange chest’ for the Imperial treasury when they sacked the castle of Saraqusta on 15 February 1139, after which they were directed west towards Rome, hoping to conquer Gaeta from the Byzantine revolt. But Basileus Alexandros retook Gaeta in April, so the raiders turned back to resume their work in Saraqusta, which they did on 22 May.

    Valdemar’s raiders finished in Mursiya in June and were on their way north to join their comrades when they ran into a force of hostile Amirid troops on 25 July in Castelló – much to the latter’s misfortune!

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    Valdemar resumed the march after a comprehensive victory, making it to Alto Aragón on 11 October. Both the raids lasted until 20 May 1140, when they were called away for other duties to the south. From 1138-40, 17 more holdings were sacked in Spain, with over 1,400 gold taken in spoils and a good number of prisoners ransomed.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Foreign Affairs, Magnate Wars, Successions and Council Business

    Impatient with the Franconian border gore in central Germany, the Chancellor was sent to see if he could fabricate a ducal claim in Bavaria in March 1138. This would not come to fruition before May 1141.

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    In the East, word filtered back of how the great Bengal Empire of the Pala had fragmented into two parts by 1138 – the Pala and Rashtrakuta Empires – both of which were then embroiled in revolts.

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    In Italy, King Kolbjörn of Sviþjod’s conquest of Foggia was successfully completed on 1 July 1138, mildly elevating Russia’s threat level after a period of its decline.

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    As noted previously, the Jomsvikings’ conquest of Navarra ended inconclusively on 1 August 1138 when the casus belli lapsed. Some months later, the long-serving and highly effective Marshal, Jarl Sverker of Yatvingia died due the stresses of his job.

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    His replacement was a very promising and loyal younger man, one Tyke Bleik, giving Sturla temporary control of the Council.

    Sturla had been looking for opportunities to bring some of the other Norse kingdoms directly under his control during this period but with no de jure kingdom claims was unable to find a good opportunity (a qualified Rurikid dynasty claimant and the target leaving the pagan defensive pact). He did find one possible candidate in March 1139: Anundr ‘the Rash’ Rurikid of Saray could claim Noregr however no chance came before May 1141.

    But old Jarl Refr II of Belo Ozero did show good initiative by declaring a Holy War for Syrt in September 1139. He joined two other hopefuls in this quest – and it would be Jarl Emund of Bolghar who would eventually win the race in August 1140.

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    Meanwhile, King Refr of Sardinia of Sardinia and Corsica defeated his latest rebel opposition on 2 October, thus freeing up this key marcher lord for more expeditionary adventures if he chose to attempt one.

    It came as a surprise to Sturla at the time but (as alluded to in Chapter 43A), Duchess Rikissa of Hlymrek had been busy with her bold invasion of Mauretania and managed to win a huge chunk of North Africa for herself, Irland and the Rurikid Russian Empire on 2 December 1139.

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    Rikissa kept a couple of counties for herself, distributing the rest to vassals, pleasing both King Hjalmar and Fylkir Sturla himself. And making Rikissa a strong second level magnate.

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    By 7 January 1140, Rikissa would be dealing with her first rebellion against her ‘tyranny’ from a local ruler in Figuig. By early February Rikissa had three forces mustered on the western coast of Morocco to oppose this upstart (from whom she’d probably tried to revoke their title).

    Sure enough, King Refr was trying his hand again in Italy by the end of January 1140 with a conquest attempt for Benevento, then under the independent Doux of Athens.

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    And not long after, King Kolbjörn was looking to further expand his Italian holdings at the expense of the beleaguered Basileus Alexandros, who was still fighting a touch civil war. The ‘Son of Loki’ against ‘the Evil: a good match-up!

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    And less than two weeks later, King Hjalmar of Irland was using the springboard Duchess Rikissa had provided to make a bid for Anti-Atlas against the Umayyad Emirate.

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    July 1140 saw the death of the Imperial Seer, Court Tutor and ill-starred Court Physician Hrolfr Þvari. The best candidate to replace him was in fact Sturla’s brother Prince Tyke. The appointment as Seer and then also tutor, plus a cash gift, made Tyke quite pleased with his brother the Fylkir. He was soon off proselytising in France.

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    It also gave Sturla the opportunity to recruit a specialist physician. The search took less than two weeks, with a mystic pilgrim hired to take up this potentially crucial appointment.

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    King Hjalmar of Irland did not live to see his latest conquest succeed, dying of natural causes and being replaced by his 14-year-old son Refil in mid-September 1140.

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    And it only took Seer Prince Tyke until 25 September to convert Périgord by his own efforts – a very effective start to his appointment! A week later, Jarl Federigo of Susa came to a white peace agreement with Shah Kharmandar of the Samanids: his invasion of Persia never seemed to have really got off the ground, even though the Samanids were then divided in a civil war.

    Rikissa defeated the Figuig rebellion on 16 November 1140 – and by then there was considerable action afoot in Mauretania, not just with Irland and the Umayyads, as we shall soon see.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Byzantium

    In early 1138 the divisive Basileus Alexandros II ‘the Evil’ Makedon remained sorely pressed by a large rebellion led by King Valerios of Anatolia. In mid-April, Alexandros made his problems worse by trying to revoke Moesia from the Duchess of Dalmatia, who promptly raised her own banners in opposition.

    5361CD.jpg

    Despite this, by early May the civil war appeared evenly balanced. A year later the rebellion would be taken over in the name of infant Queen Kale of Anatolia when her father died in February 1139 (after having apparently become 'a stone in someone's shoe').

    Alexandros, though still outnumbered by his opponents, appeared to be gaining some ground again by September 1138 [warscore 18% in his favour]. By April 1139, when Kale took over as the titular head of the rebellion, Alexandros had retaken some significant parts of Anatolia and Armenia, but despite this the rebellion was now narrowly in front [+6% warscore].

    Even though the territorial position of the Emperor seemed just as strong in February 1140, something had happened to turn the war decisively towards the rebels [+99% warscore], with Alexandros on the cusp of defeat despite also having 15,000 troops still under his command.

    And this time, there would be no escape for him: he conceded defeat on 24 May 1140. But the Makedon dynasty would continue in charge as he was replaced by his son Niphon II, then just seven, whom the rebels no doubt hoped to dominate during a regency. Alexandros remained free and the heir to his underage son, who had been given a far older betrothed.

    5xNmEs.jpg

    Athens remained independent of the realm, but the rest had been reunited. Niphon inherited defensive wars against Emir Abanoub of Halab for Antioch (which was going well) and the recently begun Swedish conquest of Ankon, where the Jarl of Savoy had joined his ally the King of Sviþjod. Queen Kale (or her regency council) was also separately prosecuting an offensive holy war for Hamada against Caliph Nasr and an alliance of Muslim powers, where the Caliph was ahead.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    The Conquest of Terebovl

    Sturla continued to probe for ways to remedy the border gore that irritated him when he looked at maps of his vast empire. Unable to find another suitable claimant to back for Denmark after the previous failure with Queen Rögnfrið, he instead resorted to a de jure claim he had on Terebovl when the Danes unwisely left the defensive pact briefly in February 1140.

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    It might also help out the Norwegians a little, who the Danish Queen was well on the way to making tributaries at that time. She was stuck over conducting a siege over in the Shetlands, which should make the conquest even easier.

    This war would be prosecuted mainly by the Imperial levies in a tried and tested campaign plan. 5,460 troops were mustered in France, to march to southern Denmark. Another 3,260 from Hungary would march through the south-eastern pass through the Carpathian Mountains to approach Terebovl itself from the south. Then 11,795 men of Sturla’s home counties levies would march on the rest of Denmark’s eastern provinces from the north-east.

    It was at this point that the Russian’s realised that a recent seclusion (on 14 May) due to fears of disease in Holmgarðr (more on that later) had deprived them of all but two of their regular field commanders! The rest had [suddenly, by paradoxical magic] been transported instantaneously back from their commands to the capital, where they were now unavailable! Therefore, the 2,549 men of the Jomsviking detachment in Alto-Aragón – who had their own list of available commanders – was also sent north to join the troops converging on southern Denmark.

    Between 1 May and 6 July the eastern Danish provinces of Turov, Beresty, Terebovl, Peremyshl (following a battle against a Danish vassal army) and Vladimir Volynsky were all besieged by Sturla’s levies.

    2yEkFn.jpg

    In Denmark, Slesvig was besieged by 23 June. The first holding to fall was Terebovl’s castle, on 13 September. Then on 10 November the Danish capital of Sjælland was also invested. By mid-January 1141, Queen Rögnfrið was still stuck besieging the remote island of Hjatland. An on 2 February, ten Danish holdings were in Rurikid hands, including all the available holdings in Terebovl [warscore 60%].

    By 12 March, this had risen to 17 holdings and the Danes were approaching the end of their will to resist. A new Danish army of 1,800 men was raised in Jutland by then. The Jomsvikings (who had taken over and now completed the siege of Slesvig headed to Sjælland where the 5,387 levies were besieging the capital, so the larger force could take on the Danes.

    Battle was joined in Slesvig on 1 May. Meanwhile, a last Danish prisoner was ransomed and then Queen Rögnfrið sent an emissary to offer her surrender on 13 May, which was duly accepted. Also returning the Russian threat to its maximum. But a long-standing piece of border gore had been removed.

    Q8UQSf.jpg

    The battle in Slesvig had not been formally ended by that time, though the Danish army was being pursued from the field. Russian casualties were no more than around 40, while the Danes had lost about 330 troops when the ceasefire came.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    The Malian War

    The conquest of Mauretania by Duchess Rikissa may have added a great swathe of rich territory to the Empire but also had some ‘aftershocks’ in terms of local unrest from both Muslim nobles (when having their titles revoked) and peasants (on both cultural and religious grounds). It also drew the ire of the displaced Shia Caliph of Mali, whose attempt to reclaim Sijilmasa in May 1140 drew the Empire into direct conflict with the very irate Caliph Igoumou.

    NtQBoj.jpg

    Given the disparity in strength, Sturla was a little surprised by this turn of events but nonetheless leaned into the challenge. The two Old Guard raiding armies (19,600 strong in total) then in northern Spain – one now under the command of Empress Gyla, the other General Bersi – broke their sieges on 20 May and started heading south to the crossing points along the Strait of Gibraltar. Even as small Crusader contingents mustered nearby for the latest war in Italy.

    Gyla’s larger army was the first to arrive at Cebta on 29 September but within a week she was no longer in command, for reasons that will be explained later. The army itself continued to head south towards Sijilmasa under new leadership – the Shieldmaiden (and former concubine of Toste II) Asa. The main Malian army was first spotted on 28 November – over 5,100 men halted in Taghaza, just to the south of Sijilmasa. By 5 January 1141, Asa had made Sijilmasa and drove south to strike the Malians in Taghaza.

    However, the Malian host had managed to evade south before they could be caught in the field, so Asa (now ‘de-toggled’ from raiding mode) settled into a siege of Taghaza on 26 February, by which time the second former raiding army had crossed into Africa and was marching to close up with them. But care would have to be taken to avoid overcrowding and attrition in the difficult desert terrain.

    Taghaza was fully occupied by 16 April, at which time Buðli took control of a reduced force (due to attrition concerns) to head south, leaving 5,000 men in Taghaza, while the next contingent timed its arrival in Taghaza to ensure Buðli had already left. By mid-May 1141, Buðli was about half-way to Araouane while the Malians had already retreated further south, out of Russian visibility.

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    At that stage, large Irish and Savoyard armies were well on the way to securing Anti-Atlas for the new King of Irland.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    The 4th Crusade for Italy

    Things kept getting even busier for Sturla in early 1141, as the new Pope Martinus II launched yet another Crusade for Italy, from his secret hideout in the Roman catacombs. Though he had no troops of his own and almost all the Catholic states had been eliminated by this time, he must still have hoped to attract some faithful adherents to the cause.

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    And come they did: from the Catholic Holy Orders, which survived in hideouts all around Europe. The Knights Templar (2,180 men), the Knights of Calatrava (1,160), Doge Foulques of Venice (3,940), the Knight Hospitaller (907) and the Knights of Santiago (462) all answered the call between 9 March and 1 April 1141.

    In response, Sturla (still at that point fighting the war against Denmark with his own levies, Mali with the main retinue ‘Old Guard’ and the rebellion in far Narsim to deal with by the ‘New Guard’) responded by raising King Refr’s vassal levy in Italy: of 17,183 men! King Tyke of Lotharingia provided 10,670 troops when called upon and they began marching south to confront the various Crusader knights making their way from southern France and northern Spain.

    The Teutonic Order mustered more troops in both Italy and France on 18 April, then the Venetians appeared to have mustered and additional mercenary army in early May. This saw the Crusade field 16,623 men by that time, most in northern and southern Italy.

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    The challenge was more substantial than had first been anticipated, but hardly enough to cause Sturla great concern. As Valdemar was put in charge of the Army of Italy, he decided to defeat the Crusaders in detail before they could unite and also allow his army to build up its readiness on the march. He headed south to take on the Holy Orders army then moving towards Spoleto in central Italy.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Court and Domestic Issues

    With enough money saved from tax receipts and raiding, from mid-July 1138 some more building projects were initiated. First was the construction of an observatory for the great Hospital of Holmgarðr, with Steward Refr being brought in to speed up construction. This was completed by the end of the year.

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    Sturla’s lover, Seeress Rögnfrið of Jamborg, gave birth to a second child by the Fylkir November 1138 – a sister for the Crown Prince. Sturla acknowledged little Grima but did not legitimise her – a middle ground as he was already suffering familial unrest from his extra-marital exploits.

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    There was little surprise when, just a few months later, Empress Gyla finally confronted Sturla – who recognised the trouble he had caused and begged forgiveness, breaking off the relationship with his lover. Sweetened with a purse of gold, which combined with Sturla’s persuasive skills, Gyla’s opinion was reduced from anger to ‘somewhat miffed but will live with it’. This would not, however, be the end of Sturla’s domestic woes – ultimately causing him considerable personal pain.

    After bailing out his loyal Spymaster Ulfr from some trouble with angry tavern owners in Heves, Sturla’s reputation for wise stewardship was further increased in February 1139.

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    Then just two months after their breakup, young Seeress Rögnfrið died from pneumonia. Sturla could not help but feel guilty about this turn of events – which deprived him of a Seeress and the Crown Prince of his mother.

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    This is how Court Physician and Tutor Hrolfr Ofeigsson – the next most qualified candidate in the realm – had become Seer. Though his term was to prove quite short, as we saw earlier.

    From August 1139, the Imperial demesne county of Pest was favoured with a visit by the Fylkir which, along with some largesse during the Imperial progress, hastened the completion of the housecarl training ground there and would later be used to support the construction of a new barracks when town infrastructure knowledge increased in June 1140.

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    It was noted above that a disease outbreak in early 1140 had led to (on medical advice) a court seclusion in Nygarðr. As it happened, either through luck or the increased medical support now available in the home counties, the epidemic never reached the Imperial demesne in Russia, spreading west instead.

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    All the seclusion achieved was to anger many locals and also vassals when Sturla’s diplomatic abilities were hampered. The seclusion would be lifted later, though some of the ill-feeling among the commoners would persist.

    At the same time, Russian technology advanced across the board – significantly in the key Norse area of heavy infantry prowess.

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    But the personal travails and pressures of his position had taken a toll on the Fylkir – by all accounts he became depressed in mid-1140, which affected his otherwise prodigious abilities.

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    Even more bad news was to follow in less than a month: Empress Gyla, genius and shieldmaiden and a great support of Sturla’s rulership, died prematurely whilst on campaign in Africa in October 1140. Sturla soon remarried after asking the most able available potential spouse – a lusty commoner widow from Italy named Cornelia, who was also a brilliant intriguer – to join his court.

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    But this new match – which also brought in some much-needed cash with all the current war expenses – could not fully repair the loss of Gyla’s untimely death. For now, Sturla would ‘wear’ the problems in his ongoing demesne and vassal span of management.

    There was a little good family news when Sturla appointed his half-brother Prince Þorsteinn – an excellent warrior still aged just 18 – to Gyla’s vacant commander’s position. And then in February 1141 one of his new concubines, Ingjerðr, reported she was pregnant. Sturla still hoped for a ‘spare heir’ to the legitimised Crown Prince Toste.

    My May 1141, Sturla’s pre-eminence was unchallenged within or beyond Russia, even if he had a few problems holding him back personally.

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    He still had three wars active – the festering peasant revolt in far Narim, plus the 4th Crusade in Italy and the Malian War.

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    The Germanic faith was now as dominant as the Norse Rurikid Empire, with inroads being made in southern Spain and even North Africa.

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    Chapter 45: Trouble on the Throne (1141-42)
  • Chapter 45: Trouble on the Throne (1141-42)

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    The 4th Crusade for Italy

    Pope Martinus II had declared a 4th Crusade for Italy in February 1141 and by 13 May the two Russian armies had been mustered to meet the Venetians and various Crusader Orders were on their way to deal with incursions in south-western France and the north and south of Italy. At least one distraction had been removed: after the successful end of the recent war against Denmark, those thousands of levies returned to Russian soil and were demobilised from 25-29 May.

    The first major action of the 4th Crusade was fought at Alviano in Orvieto from 2-21 July 1141 against an army composed of various Crusader Knight regiments. They were badly outnumbered by the large Rurikid vassal levy army commanded by General Valdemar, as the two Venetian armies in the north were temporarily ignored.

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    Of interest, one of the Crusader officers captured at Orvieto was Jewish!

    By the end of August Valdemar had turned north, to where the Venetians – under the direct command of the Doge – had concentrated. In what would prove the largest battle of the Crusade these Venetian numbers were not nearly enough and they were outclassed and outnumbered by two-to-one.

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    By the time this second large and demoralising defeat so soon after the disaster in Orvieto, the Pope’s supporters were badly demoralised and his cause was in predictable disarray.

    Meanwhile, Jarl Rikulfr was chasing individual Crusader Knight armies around southern France in a series of ambushes, skirmishes and small battles. The first two actions took place in Narbonne and then Empuries in September-October 1141 while he marched to the headquarters of the Knights of Calatrava in Lleida.

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    Back in Italy, Valdemar was doing the same, picking off isolated Crusader contingents in Modena and Lucca during October and November before they could concentrate. By the 19th, the rallied (but now much reduced) Venetian army was besieging Aquileia and being ignored for now, while Valdemar was in Florens to counter a Crusader Knight army forming to the south in Spoleto.

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    The Russian army was then split, with the larger force under General Buðli heading north to confront the Venetians while Valdemar took a smaller contingent south to chase the Crusaders.

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    At the same time, Jarl Rikulfr had just launched a rather costly and somewhat self-indulgent assault on the Calatravan castle of Agramunt in Lleida. It would not contribute to the balance of the war but should at least stop any more Crusader reinforcements emerging from there.

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    From there, he would march north to another Crusader stronghold in Bordeaux, after diverting to Rouergue in January 1142 to wipe out a sizeable Crusader force along the way.

    Valdemar would chase down his prey first, winning a victory in Ankon by 6 January 1142. Soon after, Buðli ran down the Venetians who had fled to Trent, who fought for almost a month but were once more soundly defeated by early February.

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    By March 1142, Valdemar’s army had travelled north to attack the Venetians once again, this time in their sole remaining county of Krain, at the Battle of Auersperg. Buðli’s larger army was on its way back from Trent, wiping out an unlucky company of Crusaders in Treviso on the way through to Krain.

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    Despite all the setbacks, the Pope still refused to surrender, so the Russians were compelled to crush the enemy once again. It was done by 13 April – and Buðli’s men weren’t even needed to secure another major victory. And still the Pope clung on to his vain hopes.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    The Malian War

    Another war that continued in mid-May 1141 was the rather ambitious attempt by the Shia Caliph Igoumou of Mali to retake Sijilmasa, launched a year before back in May 1140. The Imperial Guard and Jomsvikings had been marshalling their forces in North Africa, where the Malian county of Taghaza had been occupied by mid-May 1141 and another expeditionary army was headed south for Araouane to take the war to Igoumou.

    Araouane had fallen on 18 August, with Timbuktu (September) and Oualata (October) both besieged when word came of a ‘sneak attack’ by Igoumou’s main army on their target of Sijilmasa. They had apparently slipped unseen through Umayyad lands to the west to slip in behind the Russian invading armies at the end of October 1141.

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    King Tyke took command of the northernmost army that had been holding in Araouane (to prevent attrition during the invasion) and headed back north to confront the Malian army of Farbas Ismail.

    It was a long march back through hard terrain, so it was not until February of 1142 that battle was joined in Sijilmasa (note, the actual numbers engaged by Russia were less than the battle report noted – passers-by being added to the total). A solid victory shifted the war decisively in Russia’s favour by late March, by which time the enemy capital of Timbuktu had also been fully occupied.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Foreign Affairs, Magnate Wars and Successions

    King Tyke, angry old warrior that he was, was the first man placated when the new titles were distributed after the conquest of Terebovl from Denmark in May 1141. Though not a well man, he was still important to have on side and this latest gift made him an ardent supporter of the Fylkir – even if he was still an inveterate malcontent in Council matters.

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    Another powerful magnate and general, Jarl Rikulfr II of Savoy, was also rewarded.

    Next, the now incapacitated King Ottarr ‘the Bewitched’ of Germany gained Bamberg from Duke Engelbert of Franconia in mid-September. It proved to be his last noteworthy act as king.

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    Just three weeks later, there was a new ruler of Germany – and young King Kolbjörn would at least start out with a very favourable opinion of his Fylkir.

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    In December that year, Jarl Ulfr of Smáland would be the latest ‘second tier’ Russian magnate to launch an ambitious invasion of North Africa – this time seeking to gain the remaining Mauretanian lands controlled by the Umayyads. Already dealing with other Norse invaders in the north, Emir Sadiq would not be so Merry after this latest news was delivered!

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Peasant Revolts, Court and Domestic Issues

    Sturla welcomed a second (living) son by his concubine Ingjerðr in September 1141 – a spare heir for young Toste. The small bundle was passed over to the Fylkir, who looked into the child’s face – his initial complement being startled to a halt!

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    The lad may struggle to make friends with a “face like a bucket full of smashed crabs” but perhaps it would make him stronger.

    The ongoing peasant rebellion of Narim came to an end after two holdings were retaken by 9 September by the ‘New Guard’ and then the rebel army was defeated (27 November-9 December) after a chase down to Kirghiz.

    But while the 4th Crusade and the Malian War were still in progress, Sturla’s health took a turn for the worse: from mid-December 1141, the ‘throne’ the Fylkir became most familiar with sitting upon was not the one he would have preferred. The Royal Privy was renamed ‘Thor’s Thunderbox’ by a witty courtier – who was cautious enough not to say this within Sturla’s hearing!

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    The new Court Physician, the mystic Gnupa, was called in to provide treatment. His first diagnosis and treatment seemed ineffectual, so he was recalled in early January when it was determined that dysentery, rather than measles, was the cause of Sturla’s illness. He was given some relief for the symptoms but cure.

    Unfortunately, a fever was added to Sturla’s list of ailments as January ended – and people started to get worried. Dysentery was a notorious killer at this time in history and young Crown Prince Toste was still only five years old. Sturla’s existing depression only got worse.

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    So much so that Gnupa was recalled yet again a week later to treat the latest new symptoms. But if some radical and mysterious cure was sought, none was provided. Now Sturla was said to have rabies and the most useless treatment yet was administered.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Uneasy are the Cheeks that Sit Upon the Throne

    And so it happened that Fylkir Sturla did not live to see the impending victories in the 4th Crusade or the Malian War. It was said it was his depression that finally saw his end but most scholars believe the principal and immediate cause was his severe illness. In any case on 25 February 1142 Fylkir Sturla, Emperor of Russia and King of Garðariki, France and Finland breathed his last after a too-short reign of around 15 and a half years.

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    The moss-covered tomb of Fylkir Sturla, the carvings of which can still be seen today in the Imperial Mausoleum of modern Nygarðr.

    Contemporary comments about Sturla were less complimentary than one might have expected but at least were more favourable than this horrible father Toste II ‘the Dark Grey Fylkir’. And for the first time in its history, the Rurikid realm would endure a regency – and it looked like it would be a long one.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Emperor Sturla – A Brief Retrospective

    Sturla had been born on 9 November 1106 to the then Crown Prince Toste (later Emperor Toste II, of ill-repute). His brilliance had been noticeable from an early age.

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    Sturla had become Fylkir and Emperor on 26 September 1126, with an equally brilliant Empress by his side and bearing great hopes for a long, glorious and successful reign.

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    Russia at that time was already world-straddling but had only a limited footprint in northern Spain and North Africa. These would be the main areas of effort and expansion during Sturla’s reign – through the efforts of his marcher lords.

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    The following is a collection of excerpts from the contemporary Chronicle of House Rurikid noting some of the more significant events of Sturla’s reign from 1126-42.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Toste III’s Regency Begins

    Young Toste was quickly invested with his Five Crowns and the artefacts of the Imperial Treasury. His heir would be the infant Crown Prince Þorfinn the ‘Ugly Struggler’. And the Regency Council would be presided over by Chief Ulfr ‘the Seducer’ of Charolais, a competent diplomat and intriguer and (while the Crusade still lasted, anyway) extremely loyal retainer.

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    One of Ulfr’s first acts as Regent was to arrange for the betrothal of the brightest young noble Norse-Germanic girl of a similar age to be found within the realm. Young Ingrid can be seen below being congratulated on her forthcoming match by her father, mother and Regent Ulfr.

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    Only two of the current Ministers (both magnates: Chancellor Jarl Folki and Steward King Refr of Sardinia and Corsica) retained their positions on the Council, the others being forced to resign on the succession. Two new appointments – a new Marshal and the renowned intriguer Dowager Empress Cornelia as Spymaster – were made, while Toste’s uncle Prince Tyke was re-appointed by Regent Ulfr as Seer in the hope he could be kept on good terms.

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    As courtiers, the three new Council members were easily paid off, as well, to boost their loyalty.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    The 4th Crusade for Italy

    The Crusade went on after the death of the old Fylkir. When the Crusader castle of Castillon in Bordeaux was taken by siege on 23 May 1142, the French levy army was disbanded. Similarly, Valdemar’s smaller army (around 4,500 men) was dismissed the same day on their arrival in Istria from Krain, which had been under siege since 13 April, now taken over by Buðli’s larger army. Even at this point, the Pope refused to surrender [99% warscore].

    This would finally change on 7 July 1142, when Pope Martinus II recognised the inevitable and called off his hopeless Crusade. He was soon slinking back to his hideout in Rome’s catacombs, a pathetic and lonely figure subjected to merciless Germanic ridicule.

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    The last troops of the victorious Italian levy army were disbanded in Istria on 2 August.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    The Malian War

    Regent Ulfr was also keen to wind up the defensive war against Mali, as tax revenues had collapsed following the accession of a minor to the Imperial throne and raiding needed to be resumed as soon as possible. But before that could be arranged, a local peasant uprising would have to be put down in occupied Taghaza, which was achieved by the end of May.

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    By then, Oualata’s two holdings had just been fully occupied and Aouadaghost placed under siege. It happened this was enough to let Ulfr propose a white peace with Caliph Igoumou on 7 July, when an outright surrender was not forthcoming. By 14 July, the treaty was concluded.

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    As it was, the Guard armies in Mali would have a long and arduous trek home, with attrition always a threat in the harsh terrain and as supplies ran out.

    The first army to be able to invoke the Sacred Raiding Toggle was King Tyke’s 6,300 men who arrived in Sijilmasa on 25 July. They were soon heading north to the rich raiding borderlands of southern Hispania.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    The Early Regency Period

    The first administrative measure of the new Regency was a regrettable error: with money to be tight for some years yet but a decent amount still in the treasury, a new keep was commissioned for the Imperial demesne county of Pest in March 1142.

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    Or that was the plan, anyway. But Loki managed to confuse the court scribe writing up the order and the 400-plus gold went to the very surprised but thankful Chief of Pécs instead! Not the best start.

    At 16 years old, Aleta Naddoðr was renowned as one of the most brilliant women in the realm when she came of age in April 1142. Too old (and a bit to, er, eccentric) to be considered as a future wife for the Fylkir, she was ‘kept aside’ by Ulfr with a betrothal to the infant Crown Prince instead.

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    Factionalism soon began to blossom in the early and unsteady days of the Regency. Unsurprisingly, a faction – led by the powerful King of Sviþjod – to increase Council power was the most prominent of these early political plots.

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    By early June 1142, the annual balance was down to 262 gold in income and 1,039 in retinue upkeep: a monthly base deficit of around 65 gold. This would increase markedly whenever the Guard suffered significant battle or attrition casualties.

    At this time, the Council remained discontent (and would do until February 1144) due to the early post-succession instability. This of course meant its more powerful members remained free to join factions. And good old Uncle Tyke had most of the Council in his pocket due to favours called in – at a time where the Council would get a vote on all major decisions, due to the terms of the Regency.

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    The next few years would be tricky to negotiate for the young Fylkir and his Regent Ulfr.

    But he would soon gain himself a fearsome nickname – and an early promise of anti-heretical and -Hellish preferences. He enthusiastically embraced Uncle Tyke’s campaign of ‘witch hunting’, starting with an accused Hel Brother. It also helped, from the Regent’s perspective, that Oddr of Tana had been the leader of an Independence faction.

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    The old guard continued to sign out when the former concubine of Toste’s grandfather and doughty shield maiden and field commander, Asa af Buckingham, passed away soon after.

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    In June 1142, the reign of Fylkir Toste III was off to a perilous start as 11 years of Regency Council government loomed ahead, with radically depleted tax and levy bases and increased factionalism in prospect. It started one of the most uncertain periods of Rurikid rulership in over two centuries.
     
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    Chapter 46: The First Rurikid Regency – Part 1 (1142-48)
  • Chapter 46: The First Rurikid Regency – Part 1 (1142-48)

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Foreign Affairs, Magnate Wars, Successions and Politics: 1142-45

    The early regency period continued to be dominated by decreased tax intakes, Council discontent, and fraught factional politics. Regent Ulfr doing the best he could to see Fylkir Toste III through to his majority and the Empire safely through a time of potentially serious instability. The Empire would stick to a modest foreign policy, allowing any expansion to be pursued by the powerful lords of the realm – and letting them fight among themselves if they wished, so long as they weren’t fighting the Imperial administration.

    A new Duke finally came to power in the diminished Duchy of Franconia in August 1142, but cultural issues still prevented the new Duke Rudolf from accepting a request from the Regency to join the Empire voluntarily.

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    The path of trying to gain a claim and looking for an opportunity would have to remain. That, and waiting for bordering marcher lords to do this work on behalf of the Empire.

    The King of Sviþjod continued to lead the Council Power faction, whose comparative strength continued to grow as adherents joined and the young Emperor’s authority and power had diminished within his demesne (due to low martial) and with his vassals (opinion, overextension). But for now, as advised by his Regent, Toste hoped to hold onto all the personal demesne baronies his illustrious father had at the peak of his powers.

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    Meanwhile, in October 1142 the Russian expansion in central Italy continued when King Refr added Benevento to his own Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica after a war of about two and a half years against the small Byzantine breakaway realm of the Doux of Athens.

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    And in the next two months, Kings Bagge and Refil did the same in North Africa at the expense of the increasingly less merry Emir Sadiq of the Umayyads.

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    But around this time, a chance presented itself to remove King Kolbjörn from factional meddling thanks to the efficient Italian Spymistress, former Empress Cornelia. The risk was taken – and it paid off, reducing the growing Council Power faction’s strength considerably [from 62% to 40% in January 1143]. At the expense of low-level but years-long resentment by the powerful vassal.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    This suppression of the Council faction was temporary: by September 1143 it had grown again under the new leadership of the powerful King Refr [to 50% again].

    King Kolbjörn had to put up with a rare setback in October 1143 when his war against Byzantium to size Ankon in central Italy, started back in March 1140 against the former Basileus Alexandros the Evil during the civil war, ended in defeat after the reunified Byzantines brought a large army to bear in the disputed county, defeating the Swedes and relieving its siege.

    But King Refil began his own new campaign a few days later against the unfortunate Athens: an ambitious seaborne invasion of Atheniai itself. He would win this campaign in just under two years, opening another Russian infiltration point into Byzantine lands.

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    It was at this time when Toste’s slowly growing skills brought his span of vassal management (25) back into balance in mid-November, removing one source of disquiet and improving Imperial authority a little.

    And this was just in time, as an urgent warning from the Regent at the end of the month claimed the Council faction had grown alarmingly in strength in recent weeks, capped off by the powerful King Tyke ‘the Quarreller’ of Lotharingia joining. Ulfr was worried they may soon issue an ultimatum that could lead either to the ceding of much hard-won Imperial authority or, if rejected, a punishing civil war. Something had to be done! And so it was.

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    Ulfr wanted to cede one of the ‘excess’ Imperial demesne counties, Heves, to King Refr. He hoped to sway him out of factional membership while also improving general vassal opinion – and thus Imperial vassal levy strength. But Refr was the only member of Council willing to support the idea! So instead, Ulfr proposed Crown Prince Þorfinn for the title – which did receive majority support (though not Refr’s, of course). This decreased factional power a little, while the King of Volga Bulgaria decided to pull his support from the faction as the year ended, leaving it still powerful but below the critical level of just a few weeks before.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    By February 1144 its influence had decreased further. The crisis had been averted: Ulfr had been holding out for the period of Council discontent to end, which it did on 26 February. In one fell swoop, King Refr and any other Council member were obliged to withdraw their factional support.

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    This reduced all factional activity further and saw the prospect of a serious factional outbreak recede well into the distance for the rest of the Regency, for the foreseeable future anyway.

    With factionalism on the wane at home, there was more chance to cast Imperial focus abroad. In Denmark, the Rurikid dynasty now provided both the King and Queen from 25 February 1144, when old Queen Rögnfrið gave up the ghost.

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    This also ended the long-running Danish war to make Noregr a tributary, which had dragged on for 12 long years. But the familial relations did not stop Denmark joining the Pagan defensive pact a week later.

    By March 1144, Regent Ulfr conducted another survey of comparative magnate power within the Empire. As individuals, any one or two of the major vassals (mainly kings and a few of the more powerful jarls) would be manageable in any conflict against the Imperial Crown.

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    Kings Tyke and Refil were the most disaffected of the top lords and were the leaders of the remaining factions, of which there were now only three. And factional strengths had reduced further.

    In July 1144 Jarl Folki of Dauphine, the long-serving Chancellor to both Sturla and now Toste III died bedridden after a short illness. His son Folki II succeeded him as Jarl but not on the Council. The office went not to the brightest candidate but the most loyal of the ‘next best’: the immediate priority was to bolster Toste’s political base, including trying to get the Council – unusually powerful during a regency – to be more malleable.

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    The new Chancellor, Jarl Eskild of Yatvingia, was given the same mission of trying to gain a ducal claim in Franconia as his predecessor.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    After this, things quietened down significantly on the vassal, Council and factional fronts for the rest of 1144 and into 1145. The biggest and most noteworthy event of 1145 was another successful prepared invasion of Mauretania, this time by Jarl Ulfr (not the Regent) of Smáland against the young successor of poor old Emir Sadiq the Merry. Started back in December 1141, the victory eliminated the Umayyad Emirate on the western coast of North Africa.

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    Young Ghalib became a vassal of Ulfr (now known as the ‘Son of Loki’) as Sheikh of Taroudant (preventing an existing attempt by Duchess Rikissa to conquer it). But this did not last long: Ulfr revoked the county and took it on 30 August after a short campaign.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Revolts, Raiding, Court and Domestic Issues: 1142-45

    With the Empire’s external wars resolved early in the Regency, military activity by the Imperial army during the following years focused on quelling revolts (large and small) and – principally – extensive raiding in Hispania to make up the revenue shortfalls caused by the decreased taxation takings it caused. For quite a period of time, the Regent and Steward were dealing with considerable monthly budget deficits – sometimes over 100 gold per month when retinue maintenance costs escalated due to casualties from battle, sieges or attrition in hostile environments.

    In November 1142, a large peasant revolt broke out in Bourbon. Valdemar – by then Russia’s leading field commander – was given charge of the nearest raiding army of the Imperial Guard and finished his march from Africa through Spain to southern France in May 1143. From there, he headed north to confront the rebels in a straightforward and decisive battle from 28 June-18 July 1143, thus ending the rebellion.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    At home in Nygarðr, these were formative years for the young Emperor. The Rurikid archives contain a number of vignettes that paint pictures of events and decisions that helped to shape his personality and attributes as he grew up under Regent Ulfr and another influential early figure in his life, his uncle and Seer Tyke ‘the Witch-hunter’, through whom Toste already gained the early epithet ‘the Purifier’.

    According to one anecdote, Toste’s early studies of stewardship were assisted by his fussy habits, though he would not always be so timid when presented with a challenge.

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    Of more immediate significance, word of a major and potentially damaging liberation revolt in the Andalusian lands held by Russia in southern Hispania came in July 1143. A rebel army of well over 10,000 men had assembled in Algericas, putting the local castle under siege.

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    Unfortunately for the rebels, the largest of the Imperial Guard raiding armies had just passed through and now reversed course, with the experienced General Sæmundr in charge, while Valdemar was dealing with the Bourbon rebellion. With Bourbon secure by 18 July, Valdemar began his own long march south to join his colleague in southern Hispania.

    The Andalusian rebels had unwisely decided to split their army, with around 3,500 staying back to maintain the siege of Algericas while around 7,000 had headed north to Seville to spread the rebellion. Which is where they were ambushed by Sæmundr on 18 August 1143 at the Battle of Morón.

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    Even though the rest of the rebels were called up from Algericas, they were both too late and not enough to prove a match for the seasoned Imperial Guard troops. The defeat was so heavy and decisive that the whole rebellion ended there on the battlefield, giving young Toste’s reputation a good boost and discouraging other rebels throughout the empire when word spread of the quick and ruthless suppression of such a seemingly large rebellion.

    But recent retinue casualty replacement costs (143.5 gold) and decreased tax revenue (21.2 gold) had by this time led to a monthly deficit of 122 gold with a treasury of 3,046 gold. It would take a long time for taxes to rebound, so the only remedy to avoid eventual insolvency was to resume raiding, which had been halted due to other commitments for some years now.

    By early September 1143 Sæmundr was headed to the first target of the new Spanish raiding campaign: Qurtubah. The stretch of southern Hispanian border counties had largely recovered from the last concerted Russian raiding campaign, so offered quick and convenient pickings. This campaign would also extend eventually uninterrupted from 20 September 1143 through to September 1148, when it was still in progress in northern Hispania. During that time, 34 holdings would be sacked, with 6,670 raiders lost (whose replacement would always somewhat offset the gains, as a ‘cost of doing business’) and over 2,900 gold taken in sieges alone, not including countryside loot and many ransomed prisoners.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    By January 1144, the monthly deficit had come down to around 65 gold, with revenue up a little (34 gold) and expenses down (99 gold). This would fluctuate up and down as troops were lost raiding, with looting receipts roughly keeping pace with the deficits to leave the treasury with around 2,800-900 gold in reserve over the next few months.

    Meanwhile, Uncle Tyke kept finding supposed ‘apostates’ to torch. In March, it was Chief Magni of Mozhaysk, accused ‘irrefutably’ of being a Hel Brother. Given recent Rurikid history this was plausible and Toste seemed to quite like the purifying flames. Magni burned.

    But eventually, as the treasury reserve slowly began to fall below 2,700 and more raiding losses accrued, retinue replacement was reduced to 50% in September that year, after which the raiding receipts began to outweigh replacements costs.

    In October, yet another peasant revolt broke out in Bourbon. But this time, when the demesne levies were called out, another drawback of the regency period hit home: the three French Imperial demesne baronies could only muster around 2,100 troops between them! This required the New Guard, which had finally completed its very long march from the eastern steppes to Barcelona to join the Spanish raids, to be diverted north to join the levies under Jarl Vagn.

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    In November, not without a little irony, Tyke produced another candidate for the flames: a nominally Germanic Berber named Chief Ghani ‘the Purifier’ of Tangier, accused of being caught out as secret Sunni practitioner. This ‘Purifier’ was himself purified by a Purifier through the cleansing flame!

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Other than the continuing raids in Spain, little of note happened from an Imperial perspective in 1145, other than the defeat of this second peasant revolt in Bourbon. Though outnumbered, the mixed force of the New Guard and local Imperial levies (throughout this time Regent Ulfr declined to summon vassal levies if at all possible) defeated the rebel scum to once again secure the troublesome county.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Foreign Affairs, Magnate Wars, Successions and Politics: 1146-48

    Following his conquest of Benevento in 1142, King Refr waited another four years before moving to liquidate the last Athenian holding in central Italy. This also followed the conquest of Atheniai by Irland the year before.

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    This latest conquest only took around a year, showing the dangers of seceding from a large empire when you lived near one of the powerful and ambitious Russian Norse marcher lords. Or even within striking distance of their fleets. Which a later example would show was becoming long indeed!

    By December 1146, the number of active factions operating in Russia had grown again to eight – but none of them [ie the Council Power faction] could muster more than 17.6% of the strength of the Emperor, even in his still-diminished Regency state.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    It was March 1147 that the destructive energies of some of Russia’s largest vassal realms (at least three kingdoms and a jarldom) would become involved in de jure claim wars against each other. And it was the far-flung holdings of King Kolbjörn of Sviþjod that came under fire. First, from King Bagge of Bohemia

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    In a separate but concurrent war, Kolbjörn’s namesake the recently ‘of age’ King of Germany made his own claim. This soon triggered the calling in of the powerful Jarl Rikulfr of Savoy to assist Sviþjod in both these struggles, who chose them over his links with Bohemia. Tens of thousands of vassal troops were soon in motion all through central Europe.

    Just two months later, this situation escalated. Old King Tyke had died on 12 June, with his son Valdemar becoming the new ruler of Lotharingia. Within four weeks, he had launched his own claim against the beset King of Sviþjod with yet another de jure claim being prosecuted through war. And this Valdemar was no supporter of the Regency or its young Emperor.

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    During a busy time for the realm’s major figures, Warchief Vagn of the Jomsvikings had died peacefully on 19 June after almost 15 years in charge. For the first time since 1112, a new Warchief was elected rather than installed through factional intrigue or civil war. The new Warchief Bo at least started with a good opinion of the young Fylkir.

    The news kept rolling in that summer, with the new Jarl Emund of Smáland seeking to turn some recent temple inheritances by vassals (presumably outlying holdings taken during his overthrow of the Umayyads in North Africa) to start a conquest of a nearby county: on the Gulf of Aden!

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    Whether this truly outlandish-seeming venture had any chance of success appeared very dubious but it would be interesting to see what happened. Abbasid Caliph Nasr would surely not be happy!

    The turmoil continued, with a rival branch of the Rurikid clan in Volga Bulgaria taking over after a successful revolt war by the new King Jedvard in late August. In barely a month, Jedvard had undertaken to take over the small ex-Byzantine independent County of Kuma: his prospects looked pretty healthy unless its young Count was able to get some significant help. Toste wished his kinsman every success.

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    The Council position freed up as a result of these changes was awarded to King Refr in mid-October: thus binding him to ‘Cabinet solidarity’ to remove him from the factional game. Even if he would be another malcontent on the Council.

    In late 1147, the east remained in considerable turmoil. The Samanids were in a civil war, Pala was a fraction of its former size, while the rest of that formerly great empire – Bengal – was also in the middle of a civil war.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    In England, King Ale died peacefully in February 1148, though his son Emund did also inherit a border war in Irland against King Refil.

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    Emund’s membership of the Pagan defensive pact did prompt the arrangement of a royal betrothal with one of Toste’s many young sisters, which would cement a non-aggression pact that could potentially last for decades.

    After a year of war, King Kolbjörn of Sviþjod and his ally Jarl Rikulfr II of Savoy having mixed fortunes: ahead against Bohemia, behind with Germany and Lotharingia. And a little ahead in a prior revocation war against one of his own vassals.

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    The last significant vassal action of the period was King Refr’s next expansion project: a conquest of Bejaija on the North African coast from Sultan Abdullah the Holy of the Tulunids, begun on 4 August 1148

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Court and Domestic Issues: 1146-48

    At court, the growing influence of Aleta Naddoðr became pronounced in February 1146. Despite her uncertain descent (rumoured but not proven to be demonic in nature) she had become one of the most brilliant and gifted people of her generation, if not the century. None more so than in her stewardship skills. It was these skills that saw her become the Emperor’s guardian and educator.

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    As a precaution, Regent Ulfr provided some ‘encouragement money’ that June. Then an opportunity for promotion came up in August when Uncle Tyke decided to trade in a career as a witch-hunter to join the Jomsvikings: thus removing him from any possible claim to the throne! This request was agreed with alacrity – with Aleta taking up the position and becoming another loyal presence on the Council. But how would it all turn out? Only time and the Gods could know, as yet.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    With recent economies and a fierce program of raiding, by March 1147 the treasury had once again been built up into a very healthy position. While Ulfr wanted to keep enough coin to cater for threats and opportunities, he authorised expenditure on two new buildings to help the disease resistance of the home counties of Ladoga and Toropets, at a combined cost of over 1,600 gold.

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    Now ten years old but with over five years of regency rule left, Toste began to act out a little. Another anecdote from May 1147 suggested his nature was becoming rowdier – at the expense of a painful but in the end non-life-threatening injury suffered when he fell from a watchtower, gashing his arm open on a protruding piece of metal as he fell from a fair height. In later years the scar would only enhance his prestige as a ‘knock-about’ ruler.

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    In late July, the brilliant (if eccentric) Aleta was also made Tutor for the entire court.

    At this point, there was both game- and role-play involved in the employment of Aleta. She has wonderful stats and, as importantly, is interesting. I’ve thought of her as a bit of an elder-day Rasputin figure at court, in a society where all the Gods – including some of the darker ones – commanded respect and even veneration. Her rumoured background might actually be of some benefit in certain quarters, not all of them the Fellowship of Hel. And such a figure would surely gravitate to and charm themselves into positions of power.

    In October that year, both Toste and his brilliant fiancée Ingrid Shkaysdottir Cheremisid were growing into talented young people. Toste’s ‘on-call’ military power was slowly growing, while Ingrid was becoming a very talented polymath.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    By January 1148 enough funds were deemed available again to allow another chapel to be built, this time in the Hospital of Rouen, where societal memories of the devastation of the Black Death pandemic remained strong.

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    And the young Emperor continued to grow into his role, demonstrating a bit of maturity to stop his bullying of a playmate and show a more magnanimous side to his temperament.

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    Toste’s twelfth birthday marked a new stage in his personal and educational development. He would dedicate himself to learning how to become a better steward of his realm, under the adept tutelage of Seeress Aleta. Ingrid also continued to learn as she matured but Regent Ulfr was a little worried about reports of her illness. He hoped it was just some childhood malady – and not something more serious.

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    By September 1148 the Russian Rurikid Empire had consolidated its grip on north-west Africa and in central Italy. The most dangerous years of the Regency seemed to be behind, with Toste’s reign becoming a little more secure with every passing year – though another four lay ahead.

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    The great lords were either fighting each other or external targets and factionalism had decreased significantly. The Samanid civil war was over but the Indian sub-continent remained fractured.

    Germanicism had continued to spread through recently acquired lands over the seven years, at first rather slowly from 1141-44, then picking up pace quickly during 1145-46 before slowing down again from 1147-48.

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    Chapter 47: The First Rurikid Regency – Part 2 (1148-51)
  • Chapter 47: The First Rurikid Regency – Part 2 (1148-51)

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    Emperor Toste III being taught by Aleta Lade, c. 1148.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Possession is Nine Tenths of the Law (September 1148 – August 1149)

    Throughout the period, lucrative raids in northern and then southern Hispania would continue to bring the loot in: these would continue – with the occasional interruption where one of the raiding armies was called for other duties – over the next four years, ending up with raiders in southern Hispania and Hispanian North Africa, losing over 2,000 men but raking in 2,100 gold in the 21 sackings alone.

    Toste’s eagerness for and Regent Ulfr’s attempts to bring Duke Rudolf of Franconia into the Empire continued. At the suggestion of influential courtiers, the titles of both the Jarldom and Kingdom of Bavaria were created in September 1148.

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    But although these encompassed Rudolf’s territory, his position as Duke of Franconia fell under de jure German control. And though King Kolbjörn was in turn a vassal of Toste’s, it was still not enough to make Toste his de jure liege.

    The following month, Rudolf left the anti-Rurikid defensive pact – but the Regency Council would not approve a declaration of war. Then four days later Toste instead usurped the now renamed Jarldom of Franconia as the next ploy. It brought Rudolf’s submission closer: but it was still not enough, as Rudolf now hated Toste for having robbed him of his duchy.

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    However, the newly independent Chief Liutbrand of Steiermark was more amenable and a bribe brought him voluntarily into the Empire on 1 November 1148. It also seemed the Franconian title allowed Toste a vote in the German elective monarchy: he nominated himself, of course! But efforts over coming weeks could not support any other electors to support his as the heir.

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    And a hefty bribe was paid to Count Rudolf but again it was not quite enough to persuade him to pledge fealty.

    King Kolbjörn of Sviþjod meanwhile was trying to improve his chances in the four internal wars he faced. First, he abandoned his attempt to revoke Gneisen from Duchess Mær ‘the Cruel’ with a white peace on 26 October 1148.

    In November, the young King of England (embroiled in a civil war he would eventually win) attempted to ‘extort’ gold from Toste but refused to back down. And his junior colleague was in no position to do much about it.

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    Following the completion of the Chapel in Rouen’s hospital in December, the military development of Pest was continued with the expansion of the existing Housecarl training ground.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    The new year of 1149 saw the Regency Council in the pocket of Advisor King Refil of Irland, who had four of his colleagues including Regent Ulfr himself beholden to him from favours. This further limited Toste’s ability to get what he wanted as he grew into his teenage years and chafed at the long regency.

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    In mid-February, there was worrying news about Toste’s betrothed, Ingrid Cheremesid: she had contracted camp fever and was seriously ill, though receiving reasonable treatment from the local physician. She would remain ill until June but would thankfully survive the scare.

    Over 5,500 peasant rebels rose in Teschen on 1 April 1149. For now, the Regent waited to see if local vassals might deal with them. But after a month, General Valdemar’s army was sent to Poland when the raid of Albarracin was finished.

    Back at home, Toste’s education seemed to be progressing well when he emulated her diligence in his studies.

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    In mid-1149, a wave of new epidemics was spreading in various parts of the Russian Empire and just to its south in Byzantium.

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    After a quiet spring and summer for the Fylkir, in August the Marshal reported that King Kolbjörn of Sviþjod was losing his defensive wars against King Bagge of Bohemia for Boleslav [-10%] and Lotharingia for Hainaut [-65%]. But the Swede was now ahead in his defence of Mainz against his German namesake [+19%].

    But around this time, one of the less savoury influences of the Seeress and Court Tutor Aleta Lade came to the fore: Young Toste, now 13 years old, was acting out in ways that transcended even the worst usual teenage behaviour!

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    A Calatravan Folly (September 1149 – August 1150)

    King Refil had almost completely sealed his control of Ireland by late September 1149 when the young English King Emund was forced to cede Breifne to him. Now only County Tyrone remained outside Irish and Russian control.

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    On the same day, the Dowager Empress, Sturla’s second wife and now Toste’s Spymaster Cornelia, went the way of many of her trade, murdered at the hands of some disgruntled rival despite her legendary expertise. Her replacement was competent but selected more for his loyalty than his skill. That loyalty was boosted by a bribe, an arranged marriage and a nice honorary appointment.

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    In December, Shia Caliph Maghan of Mali’s quixotic Jihad for Anatolia failed after Basileus Niphon II counter-invaded and occupied large parts of Mali itself.

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    King Kolbjörn ‘Son of Loki’ of Sviþjod conceded defeat – and Hainaut – to King Valdemar of Lotharingia on 19 December 1149. But this would free more of his troops for the other wars he was fighting.

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    King Emund was complaining again about rowdy Russian nobles in Dorset – and got a similarly dismissive response to when he had tried the same thing a year before.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    The year 1150 brought a cultural change to all Norse peoples when the practice of raising runestones went out of style – replaced by writing on more flexible, though less durable materials.

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    At that time, at least eight different epidemics were spreading through the Rurikid and Byzantine Empires – by far the worst was a dreadful outbreak of camp fever which had spread through Northern and Central Italy to southern France and Croatia. None yet threatened the Russian heartland.

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    It had taken nine months for Valdemar’s army to finally reach Poland, with a decisive victory over the rebels won at Krakau on 16 March 1150, ending the rebellion.

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    In May 1150, Toste’s scribes provided him with a list of the largest realms in the known world – which Rurikid Russia headed by a long way, of course.

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    Not long after, the Grandmaster of the Knights of Santiago declared a claim war for St. Gallen, for which his brother Zoltán had a claim. With Valdemar on his way back from Poland it seemed there would be little chance of the Knights taking it.

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    In the meantime, after a long war King Refr completed his conquest of Bejaija from the powerful Tulunids at the start of June 1150, extending the Russian encroachment along the Algerian shore.

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    And Toste was able to offload the surplus Jarldom of Bavaria (whose possession was making him unpopular with his vassals) to King Refil – who had the whole Council on his payroll! Funnily enough, Refil appreciated the gesture – even as he soon destroyed the title himself!

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    This war against the Knights of Santiago was also giving Toste (or his Regency) a temporary popularity boost. Which also saw factionalism diminish to largely inconsequential levels.

    And it seemed Grandmaster Ambrus had reached a similar conclusion about his chances of actually securing St. Gallen as his opponents, because he had instead marched south to besiege Calatrava by the end of August 1150. He was ignored for now by the nearby Russian raiding army, while Valdemar made his way through France towards Spain.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Something Rotten in the State of Russia (September 1150 – August 1151)

    The treasury and income were healthy enough in late November 1150 for Regent Ulfr to authorise the raising of another three Guard companies – shock, defence and cavalry retinues. They would slowly build in Holmgarðr.

    When the Knights of Santiago took Alcázar de San Juan in Calatrava on 10 February 1151, Valdemar’s raiders were approaching La Mancha from the east. The chase was on to run down the two small Knight armies then ranging around southern Spain.

    Valdemar retook Alcázar de San Juan by assault on 24 March after the Knights had fled south. Valdemar pursued, while Hrörekr’s raiding army had already left Qurtubah for raiding in North Africa some weeks before.

    King Valdemar had not lived long after his victory over the Swedes: he was dead before his time in mid-April 1151, replaced by the scion of another branch of the Styr dynasty – King Sigtrygg – who sported a bad attitude but an excellent moustache.

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    A month later, Valdemar had finally run down the army of Ronovec Zoltán in Malaga. The destruction was predictable and total but it was not enough to force his brother to the bargaining table.

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    A far more serious battle began back in Nygarðr at the same time the Calatravan Folly was playing out. Though it only seemed to be a mild malaise, Toste’s doctor thought his symptoms were something far worse. His guardian Aleta waved this assertion of the bubonic plague off as alarmism: there were no known outbreaks anywhere in the Empire or the known world, after all.

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    While he was still a little unwell, an incident occurred that would have a long-term detrimental effect on all of Toste’s governing abilities – and a reputation as something of a dullard.

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    A couple of weeks later, things went from bad to worse for the young Emperor. First it was cramps, then a nasty fever.

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    The Court Physician was called back to see if he could ameliorate these new symptoms. Gnupa was still convinced it was that terrible killer, the plague. But all this new treatment attempt did was remove the very minor effects of the previous treatment.

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    As Valdemar chased the other Knight of Santiago army around southern Hispania, things turned desperate in Nygarðr. Gnupa had been right after all: however he’d contracted it, Toste did indeed have the bubonic plague. There were now grave fears for his life.

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    “Oh no, not again!”

    This time, with the diagnosis finally confirmed, Gnupa stepped up with a far more effective treatment for what he assessed was mild illness. But it remained very serious and Toste’s life was in the balance.

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    In Hispania, the main Knightly army under Grandmaster Ambrus was finally chased down – in Malaga again, this time at Antequera. The enemy force was wiped out to a man.

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    And this time the surrender was complete. Despite being labelled a demonic tadpole, the bedridden Toste still took the 10 gold offered for the Grandmaster’s brother. The raiders stayed on to loot Malaga.

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    As Toste clung to life, Regent Ulfr commissioned another upgrade to the military facilities in Pest.

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    Chapter 48: The First Rurikid Regency – Part 3 (1151-52)
  • Chapter 48: The First Rurikid Regency – Part 3 (1151-52)

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Flashback: Wilhelm’s Claim on Niederbayern

    In early December 1150, a claimant from newly vassalised Steiermark launched an opportunistic war to seize the county from the recalcitrant former Duke (now Count) Rudolf. On paper, it should be a close contest that Rudolf wins, given the number of levies he could still muster.

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    But later events would prove Rudolf to be as ill-advised as his father had been … by mid-1151, Niederbayern was under siege to Wilhelm’s host and Rudolf’s army was nowhere to be seen. Word was they were marching north – leaving Rudolf’s own lands undefended.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    To Lance a Boil

    As Toste struggled with his debilitating illness, his Guardian and Seeress’s true colours were seen – and they were not pretty. She was discovered taking corrupt payments in fulfilling her duties. And even worse than that, during the inquiry it came to light that Aleta had become a disloyal rival to her own charge! Toste informed his regent in a weak but determined voice that he wanted this ‘Daughter of the Devil’ gone from office and his presence.

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    But the regent did not see it that way and refused to accede to Toste’s fevered request. In part, it was due to Aleta’s demonic charm. It was also because Ulfr thought her the best tutor for Toste’s studies in stewardship and scepticism about all those ’lurid stories’ surrounding the Seeress. [Some role-playing here too.]

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    No matter that Toste now felt Aleta to be “a boil on the arse of decent society even worse than the plague”, she retained her positions at court. Then, just two weeks after his 15th birthday, the crisis in Toste’s illness came …

    … and that night, the fever broke. Toste was well again, against many expectations.

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    Jarl Hrane, already a significant Irish landholder in North Africa, launched another conquest against the Caliph of Mali in October 1151, looking to pick off what was now an isolated outpost on the Western Mediterranean coast of Africa. Imperial forces were raiding nearby in case they might be needed to assist but that seemed unlikely at this stage.

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    With Aleta now a rival and with her having bought off the otherwise loyal Spymaster Hakon, her discontented presence on the Council made the numbers even worse than before.

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    But this did not stop magnates such as King Refil of Irland from declaring a conquest of Tyrone against Jarl Geirr of Mann (now independent of Skotland) in December 1151. It shouldn’t be too difficult a task for Refil to complete.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Wanting to bolster the relationship with the powerful King Refr, Toste created the title of the Kingdom of Italy in January 1152 and suggested to the regent that it be given to Refr, who already owned much Italian territory and desired the crown.

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    But Ulfr refused to support him and with no vote on the Council himself and Hakon still beholden to Aleta, Toste could not quite get the required votes.

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    “The Witch Aleta Lade holds the Council in her hand”. A wall carving from a series of scenes at the Imperial Palace in Nygarðr depicting the events surrounding the power struggle between Toste III and his guardian-turned-rival Aleta Lade ‘the Demon Seeress’ during the latter stages of his regency.

    That month saw the Swedish king’s situation turned around further, with victory against Bohemia and the retention of Boleslav in Swedish hands. And with the help of Savoy and no further distractions, the war against Germany was now running firmly in favour of the ‘Son of Loki’.

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    Toste’s next suggestion to get Aleta away from his presence – and perhaps even killed in a distant battle – was something that was within his power. He offered her the prestigious appointment of shieldmaiden when general Valdemar died of a heart attack while on campaign in Hispania.

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    Unfortunately, Aleta must have seen behind the ploy and rejected this proposal. Once again, Toste’s schemes came to nothing. He began to believe the whispers he heard sometimes – that he ‘had a sheep loose in the top paddock’!

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    It was at that point in late February 1152 that Toste realised the Jomsvikings must have unilaterally dismissed themselves at some point. In any case, they were available to recruit again for a little piety [just 6] and no monthly upkeep for the reigning Fylkir. Even better, they were back up to their full old strength of 7,700 warriors! In July of that year, they invoked the Sacred Raiding Toggle and started the long march to Bohemia, where their next destination would be decided.

    And there was wry amusement when it was realised where Count Rudolf’s army (without him – he was an infamous coward and had been in hiding for years by then) had gone: the fool had joined King Gandalf of Noregr’s doomed defence against a Jomsviking claim war. His well-over 3,000 troops were by then heading through Denmark and southern Sweden, whether to or from the conflict was unknown.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Coronation

    And few months later, it was 13 September: Fylkir and Emperor Toste III’s 16th birthday!

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    Toste III is crowned Emperor and invested as Fylkir in Nygarðr, 13 September 1151, as depicted in a contemporaneous fresco at the Imperial Palace.

    His demesne was finally ‘the right size’, even if his vassal span was now deemed too large. Toste knew getting an heir of his own was vital, so adopted a family focus and the ambition to groom an heir.

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    His betrothed was still just over three years from her own 16th birthday – so one of Toste’s first acts was to send out word for a bevy of suitable young ladies to become his concubines. ‘It would be hard to sire an heir otherwise’ was his rather blunt, if true, observation. By 7 October, his ‘stable of fillies’ would be complete.

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    A fresco in the private chambers of Toste’s palace in Nygarðr showing his ‘stable of fillies’ [modern sensibilities notwithstanding]. Sign of a less enlightened era perhaps, but seen by the Emperor of the time as vital for the continuation of his bloodline, given recent events.

    No matter her other problems, Aleta had been a gifted teacher and Toste finished his stewardship studies as a ‘Midas touched’ money manager. And of course the irksome (if ultimately successful) Regency was over.

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    His next act was to break the betrothal of the despised Aleta to his younger brother Þorfinn – who was rather put out but was betrothed to the eligible Hafrid av Herjedaleen – who also (rather untidily) happened to be one of Toste’s new concubines! “I’ll keep her warm for you, Frog Features!” was the Fylkir’s rather demented remark.

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    But the biggest move was a decisive one – and possibly a matter of suffering risk to avoid a greater one. Aleta was dismissed as Seeress and Court Tutor the day Toste came into his majority.

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    She was gone from the inner councils of the Empire, at least. But would she cause trouble or seek revenge against her former ward? Only time would tell.

    A new Seer was soon appointed – a very loyal one: none other than the Court Physician Gnupa who Toste firmly believed had saved his life from the greatest killer of all – the Black Death itself. This gave Toste a healthy majority of loyalists on the Council – before he even counted his own vote.

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    “A Council Purified of Evil Influence”. Another carving in the sequence of wall reliefs at the Imperial Palace in Nygarðr that cover the early reign of Toste III.

    Young Prince Þorfinn had little choice but to accept his brother’s offer – even if he was offended by it. But the previous donation of the County of Heves kept him largely reconciled with his older brother. For now, anyway.

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    On 1 October a slow fever epidemic broke out in nearby Torzhok, however Toste for now refused to close the gates. He hoped all the improved medical facilities in the capital might keep the disease away – though he might change his mind if it came to the capital itself.

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    The next day, his new full reign had some good news with his dedication to the stewardship of his demesne seeing Ladoga’s peasantry inspired by his leadership.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    7 October 1152 – The State of the Empire

    On 7 October 1152, Fylkir Toste III convened the Imperial Council to review the Empire’s current circumstances. First was a review of his major vassals – the magnates who ruled Russia’s country-sized sub-realms.

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    King Refr of Sardinia and Corsica and Kolbjörn of Sviþjod remained the most powerful, followed by the kings of Irland, Lotharingia and Germany. Of these, all except King Sigtrygg had quite positive opinions of the Emperor. One of them, Bersi, was heading a rebellion with temporarily inflated troop numbers.

    Now that he had regained full control of his Imperial prerogatives, Toste was able to revive his plan to make King Refr and even closer supporter – by giving him the second crown he desired.

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    There were a few factions in operation but none were a major threat after a month of Toste’s full reign.

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    With the highly competent but malign Aleta still a bit too close for comfort, guardsmen were sent to arrest her in early October 1152 but she proved too slippery for them, eventually turning up in the court of King Gandalfr of Noregr.

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    And speaking of Noregr, Count Rudolf’s misplaced dedication to defending it instead of his birthright at home had seen his own capital fully occupied by Wilhelm Hèdervári, who now stood on the cusp of a surprisingly easy victory.

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    It would be interesting to see whether, if his claim was won, Wilhelm would try to maintain his independence or would become (by agreement or force) a vassal of the Rurikid Empire. This adventure may actually make Toste’s work easier than it might have been.

    Toste next took advantage of his new dominance of the Imperial Council's numbers to launch a bid to amend one of the few remaining laws that restrained absolute Imperial power.

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    The Rurikid dynasty was very large by this time and, though he wanted to perpetuate his own bloodline, Toste had no shortage of potential successors should he fail to do so.

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    Rurikid power had spread even further into North Africa over the last few years and small bits of ‘border gore’ had been eliminated – as much as the onerous restrictions of the regency period had allowed.

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    The slowdown in expansion during the regency also meant there were now fewer counties to turn to Reformed Germanicism, with just three conversions since September 1148.

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    From here, with most of the initial post-regency adjustments completed at home, Toste III would see what ‘mischief’ he could get up to now he was largely free to make his own decisions in matters of war and grand policy.
     
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    Chapter 49: In His Own Right (1152-55)
  • Chapter 49: In His Own Right (1152-55)

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Chief Ulfr Blots His Copybook

    Krain which had fallen into the hands of English Christian noble Foulques de Gevaudan in 1140 when the last Doge of Venice died without an heir. News came in mid-September 1052, through a process that is a mystery to modern historians, that it had fallen into the hands of the Teutonic Order, giving Hochmeister Manfred a strong base for causing mischief.

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    The pox-addled Foulques remained alive (he would die four years later) but retained no claim on Krain, while his liege Chief Faste de Gevaudan of Rennes and retained a strong claim on Krain and the Kingdom of Venice. Krain would remain a ‘back pocket’ objective for the Rurikids for a later quick conquest that could be won in defiance of any massed defensive pact response. But not for now.

    King Refil’s next success had come as easily as expected: Tyrone was brought into Irland in October 1152, completing the annexation of the entire island.

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    When November 1152 came around, the season was right for the calling of a Great Blot, which Toste III naturally ordered straight away, keen to get his new authority as an adult off to a strong start. After two months of ritual and revelry, the opinion of his vassals and the morale of his armies would be boosted for the coming year.

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    As the hangings and celebrations progressed, news came from the realm of the Abbasids of a new Caliph – Nasr II having fallen to cancer, replaced by his son Jalil – apparently a somewhat decadent man with a rather small army at his command.

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    News closer to home was of a more immediately debauched nature: the Court Skald and ex-regent Chief Ulfr ‘the Seducer’ of Memel had really let loose at the Blot feast. First it was uncontrolled drunkenness, then less than a week later he was reinforcing his reputation as a cocksman – at manly spear-point in the feasting hall, no less!

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    At least Ulfr seemed to be enjoying himself, though the young Fylkir was not so amused to see his previous (and still designated) regent disgrace himself so publicly and self-indulgently. As the Blot ended, Toste had still refused to shut the gates – and the slow fever epidemic that had started in neighbouring Torzhok had not spread to the capital as yet. Perhaps those improved health measures were working. Or it was just the luck of the Gods.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Earlier in 1152, Toste had confidently proposed a law to remove approval of banishments from Council voting rights. Despite thinking he commanded a strong majority and with no known favours owed, the proposal still went down in January 1153. It could not now be proposed again for a good many years.

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    King Kolbjörn ‘the Son of Loki’ of Sviþjod won his last of three wars on 10 February 1153 when his German namesake gave up his attempt to wrest Mainz from Swedish control. Many thought another hearty cackle from the heavens could be heard that day …

    As Toste looked into a mirror one chilly February morning in the Imperial Palace at Nygarðr, then at a portrait of his late father Sturla, he decided the facial hair he had adopted on his adulthood was simply too – derivative.

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    He told his barber to “Just shave it off.” The young Fylkir would sport a clean-cut look from then on. For now, anyway.

    Sad news followed a couple of weeks later with the death of veteran lowborn general Buðli at 68 while raiding in Hispania – of old age. Quite an achievement for such a prolific campaigner and veteran of so many battles over the years. While a new man was being recruited, Toste finally remembered to fill the vacant Court Tutor position (forcibly vacated in disgrace by Aleta Lade). He appointed the smartest candidate available – his young concubine Alvör Fredriksdottir. He hoped she’d be pleased with the honour.

    Around June 1153 Toste was contemplating the next ‘big move’ he might make – something to elevate him to the rank of great Rurikid emperors. It would have to be a Great Holy War: and he had Andalusia in mind. This would potentially link together all the southern and northern Hispanian holdings and in turn link to North Africa through Gibraltar (already held).

    The current Council would support it (5-3 with his vote) and it would trigger the world’s defensive pacts – virtually every known land except England, Denmark, Scotland and Noregr. But first, Toste wanted his marriage to his betrothed, Ingrid, to be formalised. This would eliminate the opinion negatives from currently holding too many vassals and having too large a demesne; boost his martial influence; and greatly increase the number of levy troops he could call on from his vassals.

    Given such a war would take a little time to complete, Toste wanted the reserves of troops and cash on hand to see it through and in the meantime would continue to weaken Hispania through the constant raiding that had now gone on for many years in all its border lands. Some formal alliances with the minor Norse kingdoms (England and Denmark at least) could be arranged in the immediate lead-up too.

    In the meantime, the current raids turned up something interesting and very valuable in Fès in early July 1153. This artefact was of far greater quality than the silver bracelets already held in the Imperial Treasury.

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    A couple of weeks later, Toste was tempted to challenge to troublesome Jarl Folki II of Dauphine – a serial factional plotter – to a holmgang. But the physically imposing Jarl might prove a difficult opponent and he was more an irritation than a true rival. Without an heir yet and early in his full reign, the young Fylkir demonstrated admirable restraint and resisted the impulse.

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    Speaking of rivals, Aleta Lade had seemingly fallen on her feat during her exile in Noregr. She had married the Marshal and heir to the county of Þelamark, Steinn Åkesson. And had not yet shown any desire to mess with Toste.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Patience is Virtuous, though Finite

    At the end of August 1153, the reconstituted Jomsviking army finished its long trek from Holmgarðr to begin raiding Castellon in north-east Hispania. This meant three armies were now reaving away, sapping money and men from the beleaguered Muslim realm without the need to a formal declaration of war.

    The following month, a long-arranged marriage was celebrated in England, which it was hoped should guarantee the relationship with England for some time to come.

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    And by the end of that month, Wilhelm Hédervári was very close to winning his claim on Niederbayern, with Chief Rudolf’s army still way up in Noregr. Speaking of which, Toste’s agents were keeping an eye on Aleta Lade – who was now the Chieftess of Þelamark after her husband came into the title and in early October had been made her Seeress. Not quite the equivalent of Seeress for the mighty Russian Empire, but something.

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    Then a few weeks later, Toste was drinking with Godi Buðli of Stettin when the conversation turned to – dubious topics. But the young Fylkir, while believed possessed, was no sinner and took his duties as Fylkir seriously. He would not follow the path of his namesake and grandfather along the Highway to Hel.

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    Soon afterwards, King Refr approached his Emperor with an idea to create a monument “to raise our cultural status” and boost Toste’s leadership profile. It would be expensive but the cash was to hand and Toste was interested to see what the powerful monarch – the second most powerful man in the realm after the Emperor himself – might come up with.

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    As the year ended, Refr was seeking to expand again – but this time internally, using his granted title as King of Italy to attack King Kolbjörn of Sviþjod for Florens. The Son of Loki’s levies were still well under-strength from his recent wars and he could probably muster less than half the strength Refr could. And this was Refr’s back yard. It was likely to go just one way. At the same time, Noregr joined the anti-Russian defensive pact.

    Then just as the year was about to end, Wilhelm won his claim and Rudolf was down to his last county. Of course, Toste was soon asking him to join the Empire as a vassal.

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    Chief Wilhelm’s first answer was no, but a small bribe was just enough to convince him to join, which he did by 10 January in the new year.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    A small ceremony on 1 January 1154 marked a century that the de jure Kingdom of Lithuania had been part of the Rurikid Russian Empire.

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    While King Refr (as the Imperial Steward) mishandled attempts to levy taxes in Holmgarðr, the grumbling amounted to nothing as the subjects had been well cowed by other recent revolt suppression. As the capital continued to resist the slow fever epidemic, with the gates remaining open.

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    Then Chancellor Eskild announced he had finally succeeded in gaining a claim on Niederbayern – too late to be of any real use and not worth the money required to use it. He was sent to Rudolf’s last county of Salzburg instead.

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    With money in the treasury and flowing in from the continuing Hispanian raids, in mid-February Toste used up a bit more of his retinue cap by hiring two more shock and one cavalry retinue to training in the capital. And the reinforcement rate was once more set to maximum, having been at 50% for some years.

    A week later, Toste was certain one of the married women at court was coming onto him. But not only was he a bit more proper with such things than some of his predecessors (especially his evil old grandfather Toste II) but Inga was the wife of his hitherto very loyal Spymaster! On both counts, Toste wisely resisted the temptation.

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    The young Fylkir’s patience was rewarded in April: another example of not rushing to action cemented the trait in his character.

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    But patience has its limits, as Toste was about to find out. Potentially good news from his concubine (and recently appointed Court Tutor) Alvör turned to suspicion and then anger when the sordid truth was eventually revealed.

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    If she hadn’t been pregnant, Toste would have thrown her out straight away. As it was, he’d have to exercise some of his new-learned patience.

    On a better note, Toste’s half-sister Þordis was at least doing well in Skotland and making a name for herself – literally – as Queen and Seeress. Even if she was not that fond of her brother.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    An Imperial Marriage

    May saw the building up of Pest continue, with second stage of the training grounds completed and the improvement of the Housecarl training ground commenced.

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    And there was a change in Hispania, with Yahaff IV ‘the Fat’ thrown out by the Tulunids, who successfully claimed the realm on behalf of Empress Tawaret ‘the Usurper’. The Tulunid lands in the Middle East were now known as the Sultanate of Egypt, Abdullah III’s primary title.

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    It seemed Tawaret was his cousin, with their shared grandfather being Sultan Abdullah II.

    Then in June, Toste once again resisted the urge to give Jarl Folki a good thrashing. Folki was grasping, ambitious and a factional opponent but even in combination the Fylkir did not think these to be capital offences. Though if he’d had a clear advantage in personal combat, his patience may have been tested …

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    As August passed its mid-point, the gates of Holmgarðr remained open as the epidemic spread extensively to the south-east. Maybe all the money spent on the state-of-the-art (for those times) Hospital of Holmgarðr had paid off after all.

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    And this time round, Chancellor Eskild’s fabrication work moved along far quicker in Salzburg than it had in Niederbayern. Toste forked out the funds needed to confirm it: the claim would be kept handy for the right moment (perhaps as part of a ‘job lot’ the next time a major war was contemplated).

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    Next, Jarl Eskild would return to the capital to see what he could do to lower Russian threat perception in the outside world.

    Alvör’s bastard son was born at the end of October: a pity, as a genuine male heir would have been most welcome. The father, Arngrimr of Foix, became an implacable rival and Alvör was set aside. Toste felt betrayed and angry but did not let that slow him down …

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    … as the very same day an invitation was made to a young woman in Kerzhenets and by 10 November Asa had taken up the vacancy. With a gift to welcome her.

    After a year, the Steward King Refr unveiled the monument Toste had paid so much for. And the Emperor was less than pleased.

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    “I don’t know about this, Refr. I’m not angry, just disappointed,” was his passive-aggressive response. He had been ripped off but saw no point in worsening the situation by making a mortal enemy out of his most powerful vassal. He just gritted his teeth and moved on. Patience, he muttered to himself as he made his exit.

    The Jarl of Smáland’s ‘mission impossible’ in Bayda was formally called off in November 1154. It had never stood any chance of success.

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    The constant raiding conducted in the Fylkir’s name did have one great advantage (other than the loot and hostages secured): his reputation as a Viking was cemented, which would really improve everyone’s opinion of their Emperor, among other things.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Another success from the marcher lords came in late January 1155 with the annexation of El Rif from the Caliph Maghan II of Mali. The inexorable spread of Rurikid dominance continued in North Africa.

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    Three months later, King Refil of Irland (who also had Balkan long-held Balkan lands) launched a Holy War to take the isolated Bononia, which would be a useful outpost south of the Danube if it could be secured.

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    And as expected, King Refr completed his claim of Florens from his Swedish counterpart as August was coming to a close as he sought to consolidate his hold over Italy.

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    And then … Toste’s long engagement to Ingrid was over. It was time for an Imperial Wedding, a glittering occasion for which no expense was spared. The nuptials were concluded on 5 September 1155.

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    As anticipated, the Empress was able to make an immediate and valuable contribution to the administration of the realm. Suddenly, with Ingrid’s help, Toste was able to adequately manage all 25 of his current direct vassals. There was even spare room for another holding to be absorbed into his demesne.

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    The number of troops he could call on had increased significantly, including the benefits of his Viking reputation among the vassals and their willingness to commit levies on request. Ingrid also received the ‘personal wedding present’ of he own account of gold to spend as she saw fit, at which she was well-pleased.

    All Toste needed now was an heir: even with three concubines at his disposal for the last few years, no legitimate child had been conceived and his brother Þorfinn remained his heir.

    Over the last three years, raids had been conducted continuously within Hispanian – and then Tulunid – land. Snassen and Fés in North Africa; Badajoz, Uhshunubah, Mértola, Mursiyah and Qurtubah in southern Spain and then Castellon and Saraqusta in the north were all raided. After the Jomsviking army had completed its march from the capital, three counties were being raided at any one time by a total of almost 30,000 elite Guard or Holy Order troops. A total of 30 holdings were sacked, 4,100 men lost and 2,644 gold taken from sacking alone during the three-year period.

    Only two more counties were converted to Reformed Germanicism over the same time: Biskra in North Africa in late 1152 and then Arborea in Sardinia in August 1155.

    For now, with his wedding celebrated, Toste contemplated his next actions. Before he launched into a new Great Holy War, he would further harry Tulunid Spain, progressing from thorough border raiding to hunting down and attacking any army of the Spanish Tulunids or their vassals he could find. A ‘softening up’ process that would also provide more gold to fund a long campaign and allow his own vassal levy base to grow further.
     
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    Chapter 50: Striking Out (1155-57)
  • Chapter 50: Striking Out (1155-57)

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    The Spanish Raid

    Fylkir Toste had celebrated his long-awaited marriage to Empress Ingrid in early September 1155. But rather than leaping immediately into a new Great Holy War for Andalusia, he continued with the long raid of Hispania to continue to weaken it. And this would soon change from the usual simple pillaging of border counties into a more widespread campaign to destroy as many Tulunid and allied or vassal armies as possible.

    Another 17 holdings would be sacked up to November 1157, with attention moving from Saraqusta and Qurtubah onto Albarracin, Dax and Alto Aragón. Casualties were quite heavy, with over 1,900 raiders killed for around 1,480 gold taken (and of course the suppression of Tulunid troop numbers in the holdings looted).

    A particularly valuable artefact was seized in Albarracin in January 1156. Just as good as the Champion armour that had been made for Fylkir Helgi back in 1042, Toste took to wearing the Warden armour taken from its previous owner, Rekkaredo ibn Berengario.

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    From September 1155 to August 1156, the de facto war spread to ‘search and destroy’ missions in the Spanish hinterland, with a series of one-sided field battles (more ambushes) conducted in Balansiyya, Albarracin and Saraqusta. These were followed by a larger engagement at Haro in Nájera from 3-29 October 1156, where Jarl Vagn took on a force of over 5,500 to win a heavy victory.

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    This was followed by another battle of similar size in Deniyya in January 1157, where Jarl Rikulfr II of Savoy took a heavy toll on a large Tulunid army.

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    Jarl Vagn fell upon an unfortunate Valencian detachment in a second ‘battle’ in Balansiyya in February, completely destroying an enemy column of 1,200 men for just nine Norsemen lost. At that point, he was detached northwards, where an English revolt had broken out to topple the ‘tyranny’ of King Emund, Toste’s kinsman.

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    This was not so much out of altruism to help Emund as to see if a quick conquest could be made of Cornouaille from the rebels before the (separate) civil war ended. It would take him four months to make the approach.

    Soon after arriving, a convenient claim was found (conquest was not possible on a Germanic county) and war declared on the English Revolt on 2 July.

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    A rebel force was attacked on 9 July and heavily defeated within eight days and a siege commenced.

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    Back in Spain, Jarl Rikulfr ambushed another local army in Qurtubah in September 1157, completing the ‘sweep’ of Hispania in this phase of the conflict. A summary of this two-wear field raiding campaign from October 1155 to September 1157and battle results in provided below.

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    The attempted Cornouaille land grab came to nothing when the rebels won their war against Emund in November 1157. Although not of the Rurikid dynasty, the infant King Fredrik was Toste’s nephew, his mother and Regent being Toste’s half-sister Rikissa.

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    Warm relations with England would continue under the new regime, even while the exiled Emund fled to the Fylkir’s court in Nygarðr for sanctuary.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Realm, Court and Palace

    Between advice from Spymaster Hakon and good management of the capital province (which had still not been struck by the camp fever epidemic to its south), both Rouen and Holmgarðr thrived in early 1156.

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    The irritating Count (former Duke) Rudolf of Salzburg was considered enough of a pimple on the imperial butt of progress to be squeezed in April 1156. Perhaps if he could be ‘whacked’, his successor might prove more amenable to being forced into the Empire as a vassal. A murder plot was instigated, though the cowardly count remained in hiding and only a small number of conspirators would join. And all of them required cash inducements.

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    After some years of trying, a welter of pregnancies came in mid-1156, with the Empress and two concubines all vying to provide the Fylkir with an heir. And none of these gave rise to any suspicion.

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    The first two children were born in early 1157 – both daughters. Very nice and all that, but not the male heir Toste needed to secure his own line of the dynasty.

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    As he waited for the third child to be born, a leper came to court seeking aid. But Toste’s protectiveness of his family triumphed over any desire to ‘do good’, so the man was turned away.

    The plot against Rudolf was advanced significantly when (again as a results of bribery) the Mayor of Dürmberg was brought aboard. But still not concrete plans seemed to be forming to off the pesky count.

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    Then just a few days later, Toste’s concubine Asa gave birth to a son and heir – Ottarr. But the young lad was not so much sickly as weak-looking. Not the paragon of health and martial prowess the Fylkir had been hoping for. He decided that a martial upbringing might do him some good – help to harden him up.

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    More bribery brought another plotter in against Rudolf in August 1157 – but still no material plans emerged.

    In September, Toste’s younger brother and the former heir (now second in line) Þorfinn came of age. He was not well at the time, suffering from a bout of the flu, turning out to be a fairly learned but otherwise unremarkable princeling.

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    His betrothal to Hafrid was solemnised in marriage a few weeks later. But this did nothing to change an inherent dislike that had developed for his brother the Emperor.

    And before the month was out, that dislike and ambition had manifested itself in the creation of a ‘faction of one’ to promote himself for the Russian imperial throne!

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    Another skirmish retinue was added to the reserve ‘New Guard’ regiment assembling in Holmgarðr in December 1157 as retinue numbers were brought up to around 23,000 well trained men in total (and not counting the Jomsvikings) – most currently serving in Spain.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    A Time for War

    As the great Spanish raid cut its bloody path through Tulunid Hispania, other endeavours took their own course. Toste’s cousin (and prominent member of the Rurikid line of succession) King Toke of Denmark died in battle fighting a difficult rebellion in December 1155.

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    His son Hemming II succeeded him – an ambitious pretender to the Russian throne. A gift was sent to keep him on-side.

    The ever-expanding King Refr launched another ambitious venture in January 1156: he aimed to conquer the capital of the powerful Galician King Raimundo.

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    Meanwhile, the long-running Jomsviking attempt to put a claimant on the throne of Noregr ended inconclusively in late March 1156. King Gandalfr had proved himself to be a wily survivor of many plans to strip his lands from him.

    Next came a declaration by Jarl Hrane of Hlymrek in February 1157 to expand his North-west African holdings through a Holy War on Timbuktu against the young Shia Caliph Bannu of Mali.

    In the end, King Refr’s victory over Galicia came in little more than a year, with Coruña becoming the latest useful Imperial outpost. Raimundo was forced to move his capital south to Porto.

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    With the ‘hollow’ Jarldom of Franconia now doing little more than inflaming vassal opinion against him, Toste gave it to King Sigtrygg of Lotharingia in April 1157, whose opinion of the Fylkir could do with improvement.

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    Sigtrygg was grateful but that did not stop him from destroying the title a month later! At least Toste had got some political value out of it along the way.

    Next it was the loyal King Refil of Irland expanding the realm. An outpost gained south of the Danube, with the former Roman province of Bononia absorbed into Refil’s Balkan holdings, to be renamed Vidin. And earning him the excellent nickname Sword of Tyr (to give him equal bragging rights with King Refr, ‘the Sword of Frey’).

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    And whether it was a result of or encouraged by Russia’s continued depredations or not, a major Umayyad revolt broke out in Hispania in November 1157 against the Tulunids who had usurped the realm from them a few years before.

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    And this presented a tempting opportunity to make gains against a rebellion that would not trigger the ‘world pacts’ arrayed against the Rurikids. So an opportunistic Holy War for València was launched with majority Council support to take advantage.

    The raiders not already engaged in siege work (Jarl Rikulfr’s army down in Granada at the time) was ‘de-toggled’ and started marching for Valencia. A siege in the north at

    Alto Aragón would be seen out, while Vagn was at that time still engaged in the siege if Cornouaille.

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    To get the job done, all Imperial demesne levies in France and Hungary were mobilised, in addition to a selection of vassal levies in the west. Soon, a levy force of over 37,000 was heading to Hispania.

    Gaufrid had finished his siege in Alto Aragón by 20 November and he too ‘de-toggled’ and headed for Tarragona through safe territory with his smaller Jomsviking army to hit Valencia from the north. At that point Toste recognised the need to get the job done as quickly as possible and raised the Swedish vassal levy (over 22,000 men) in Uppsala and began marching them to Spain as well.

    Which was somewhat prophetic, as the very next day an insulting declaration of Jihad was received from the Sunni Caliph Jalil of the Abbassids – for Mauritania. It should be an interesting challenge given many would no doubt respond to Jalil’s call, though Toste – now able to command over 200,000 troops to the colours, not including allies – was hardly afraid of this latest development.

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    Back in Spain, Rikulfr began the first siege of the Valencian Holy War in Deniyya in December 1157, with plenty of hostile armies (Tulunid, Rebels and other aggravated locals) spread around them.

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    By 23 December, another ten Sunni Muslim realms had joined the Jihad. But on the upside, the Fylkir’s popularity was sky high with the vassals for defending against an infidel attack.

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    This latest development caused more of the large vassal levies to be called up: almost 21,600 men from King Refr boarded over 530 ships to head for North Africa where a Tulunid army lurked and the Jihad threat from the east was likely to first emerge.

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    And King Refil provided another 16,500 men and 327 ships in Irland, sent down to Coruña as the Galicians had mobilised and joined the fight.

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    With the Jihad declared, Toste formalised the relationship with England by requesting an alliance. Then, in the manner of ‘everything everywhere all at once’, another of the ‘rolling revolts’ broke out in England just four days later. The very same day the alliance proposal was accepted by the English!

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    Naturally, a request for assistance was soon sent on King Fredrik’s behalf. In return, their assistance was called in for the Jihad (for what it might be worth). But more to the point, Toste decided to provide significant material help by ordering the Irish levy to change course and land in southern England instead. Fire and sword would be brought to the heart of the rebellion.

    An interesting and complex set of campaigns had just begun for the Russians, who looked to a period of vigorous blood and battle. Toste was happy to launch into this ‘bit of entertainment’.
     
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    Chapter 51: Fighting for Religion and Kin (1158)
  • Chapter 51: Fighting for Religion and Kin (1158)

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    The Holy War for València

    Of the three recently started wars, that for València probably had the most urgency (as it was against a revolt, meaning the conquest had to be resolved before the civil war ended) and the most to gain for the Rurikids (the other two conflicts being defensive in nature). In mid-January 1158, the siege of Deniyya by Jarl Rikulfr II was supplemented when General Gaufrid (a new Russian commander) arrived with the Jomsvikings in Castellon.

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    This left sizeable enemy forces in between the two Russian armies in València, with more on the way. Meanwhile, at sea to the south-east, the large fleet carrying the levies from King Refr was on its way to fight the Jihad in Mauretania.

    By early March, the Tulunid Revolt had assembled a large army in Balansiyya, which moved to attack Rikulfr in Deniyya. Birger had arrived in Castellon with reinforcements in late February and he took over the combined force, breaking the siege on 5 March and attempting to intercept the rebels before they could strike Rikulfr: it would be a close-run thing!

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    Simultaneously, Rikulfr also broke his siege in Deniyya (the first holding having just fallen on 24 February), hoping to reinforce Birger in Balansiyya if the battle eventuated there: Birger would have to hold outnumbered for a week before the flank march could strike the rebels.

    The rebels hesitated and were attacked by Birger in Balansiyya on the 12th. The first part of the plan had worked. The enemy had the best of these opening exchanges. Birger’s divisions were outnumbered – especially in the centre – but did their best to press the attack until relief came.

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    Rikulfr’s arrival – where he took personal command in the centre - coincided with a great melee breaking out there. The numbers had now been evened up. The berserk charge of the Russian heavy infantry was devastating: hundreds of the Valencian soldiers were mown down like ripe wheat.

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    By 22 December they had broken, with Rikulfr in pursuit while the fight on the flanks was still in the skirmish phase, though the numbers now favoured the attackers. And more Russian levies were approaching through Barcelona by that point.

    At that time, up in the north Hrörekr’s Guard army had finished the march from Cornouaille to invest the Tulunid Rebel capital in Oviedo.

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    Back in Balansiyya, the battle raged on. By 31 March both the left and right wings were engaged in fierce melee. Fatally for the enemy, Rikulfr had returned from his pursuit and crashed into the flank of the Rebel division on the left, again to bloody effect.

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    Soon the entire Rebel defence had broken and by 10 April the pursuit was over. Over half the enemy army had been killed in a decisive blow, with two of their commanders captured on the field. [Though for some reason this did not count to the victory point total.]

    As the pursuit was being made in Balansiyya, more widely another Galician and Rebel army was spotted in central Hispania, heading south to Calatrava as the Russian levies reached Tarragona on their way to València.

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    With the victory in Balansiyya, the siege of the castle there began under the command of Birger, while Jarl Rikulfr returned south to resume his interrupted work in Deniyya. Hrörekr ad been brought over to command to newly formed levy army to resume the siege in Castellon.

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    The siege work continued over the next few months, making steady progress. In the north, the siege of Oviedo continued as Tulunid disunity played into Toste’s hands, the revolt attacking an outnumbered loyalist force under the personal command of Tulunid Empress Tawaret in early July.

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    Oviedo’s castle fell on 20 July, followed by further holdings in Balansiyya and Deniyya in August, though some losses by the besieging forces were suffered. For now, no further substantial Tulunid (Loyalist or Rebel) threat to the four Russian sieges had emerged.

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    On 1 September, the newcomer General Asclettin (who had been campaigning in North Africa up to that point) was installed as the commander in Oviedo as a new Rebel threat approached: and army somewhat larger than his, with no other Russian reinforcements anywhere near. Asclettin was attacked on 23 September, with early skirmishing even. He held the advantage in light and heavy cavalry but the Rebels had more than twice the heavy infantry.

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    But in the end, the battle would last for only four days before events elsewhere saved further bloodshed. A total of 11 holdings had been taken in the four besieged counties from April to the fall of Gandia in Balansiyya on 27 September. And that was enough for Silo of the Tulunid Rebellion to sue for an immediate peace. Asclettin started heading to the safety of Coruña as the settlement was worked out: he had lost fewer than 300 troops in his brief defence.

    The short but bloody (for the enemy, at least) Holy War for València had ended in a total victory for the Fylkir, who would soon have to work out a division of the spoils. And how many levies should be demobilised or sent over to fight the Jihadis in North Africa.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    The English Revolt

    The diverted Irish levies landed in Winchester in mid-February 1158 and were put under the command of the experienced Jarl Vagn. King Fredrik’s small allied force would be asked to converge on his army as it went ‘putting the stick about’ the rebel scum. The other two allies who had joined for the Jihad were being ordered down to join Birger in Hispania in the first case.

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    A first skirmish was fought at Staines in Middlesex from 1 March, with the 657 ‘unaffiliated’ enemy troops being wiped out within four days. Vagn then began the pursuit of a larger rebel army (of around 4,100 men) to the north.

    Vagn attacked these rebels at the Battle of Crowland in Northampton on 18 March and had beaten them by 4 April, leaving around 2,200 of them to flee north-west as Vagn chased. This battle, against an ‘official’ rebel army, did count to the war’s outcome.

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    In late April, the actual main army of the English rebels turned up in Cornouaille and began to siege down its holdings. For now, with the Holy War and Jihad raging as well, the Russians did not send any force to confront them.

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    As Vagn marched north, he encountered two different rebel contingents. The first was ambushed and destroyed in Chester by 12 May, the second (the remnants from the earlier Battle of Crowland) by 2 June in Lancaster. The siege of the castle at Lancaster would last until it surrendered on 7 September.

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    Meanwhile, with the situation in Hispania tending heavily in Russia’s favour, in early July two approaching levy armies were directed to converge on Cornouaille after all: otherwise the rebellion may drag on for longer than necessary. Indeed, Quimper would fall to the rebels in mid-August, setting back the English Loyalist cause somewhat.

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    As the Holy War for València was ending, the new levy army had converged on Vannes, General Einnar assumed command and would hit Cornouaille on 6 October.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    The Sunni Jihad for Mauretania

    The first volunteer to support Toste’s defence against the Mauretanian Jihad was the humble but welcome support of Chief Ingjald of Peremyshl. All help would be accepted!

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    The resilient King Gandalfr of Noregr was next to offer support (after England had been called in earlier in January): this was most appreciated and would be remembered favourably by the Fylkir.

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    By 21 February, Caliph Jalil had 16 participants signed up, with King Raimundo of Galicia being the closest and most significant of these.

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    In mid-Apr 1158, the Sardinian and Corsican levy had landed in Al Dazair and crossed the Atlas Mountains with Asclettin in charge, on its way to confront a Jihadist army that was now investing Cebta.

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    In an unavoidable setback, one of the two vulnerable temples held in distant Arabia fell to a large Abbasid army on 4 April.

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    As Asclettin approached Cebta on 20 May, the Valèncian Holy War was still far from resolved, though the decisive Battle of Balansiyya had just been fought and won. And a new Jihadist army had been spotted to the east of Bejaija. The Galician army was marching through Russian Seville on its way to an uncontested crossing of the Strait of Gibraltar.

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    The Temple of Seiyun in Hadranawt soon followed Sabwa into Abbasid occupation on 2 June, giving the Jihad another easy win that the Germanics would be unable to reverse.

    The Catlatayud Jihadist army broke its siege of Cebta in June as Asclettin approached from El Rif. They would wisely avoid contact, falling back to join King Raimundo’s more powerful army then besieging Tangier.

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    This set up the second major battle of the year and the first of the Jihad as the two roughly equally sized armies met on the field of Mulay Buselham in Tangier on 8 July 1158. By the time the two sides clashed, Jarl Rikulfr had taken charge, leading a team of Russia’s best generals to command the three divisions.

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    The fight was brisk, but not as tough as might have been expected for the Germanic attackers, with the enemy losing 8,000 men and one of their leaders as a prisoner. The battle, large though the enemy toll had been, only contributed a small amount to the overall cause.
    After this strong victory, the army would then turn around to relieve Biskra, which had been under Jihadi siege since early July. By then, the war in Hispania was reaching its final stages.

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    Simultaneously, many hundreds of leagues away, reports had reached the capital that an Abbasid army was passing through Byzantine lands towards southern Russia. The ‘Young Guard’ detachment training in Holmgarðr was sent south to lead a response – plus a force of 13,000 vassal levies call out to ensure any further follow-up incursions could be handled.

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    By mid-August, another dozen realms had joined the Jihad, bringing the total to 28. Russia still had just the three allies.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Court and Dynasty

    At home, Toste’s faithful Spymaster Hakon went down one cold and dark alley too many in search of a lead and was beaten to death by anonymous thugs in February 1158. The most qualified replacement was the accomplished and equally loyal Jarl Hroðulfr de Normandie of Vladimir. And a check of plots at this time found that there was something rotten in the state of Denmark. As well as the County of Heves!

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    Less serious was King Hemming II of Denmark plotting to murder Toste’s pesky half-brother and second in line to the throne, Þorfinn. A plot Toste could not stop – and didn’t particularly want to! Because more concerning was Hemming’s brother (another senior Imperial claimant) Prince Ingólfr – whose target was Toste himself – backed by the treacherous Þorfinn! ["My HALF-brother", I can hear in the back of my mind, @Chac1 :D] This latter plot was soon ended, but the falling-out between the two brothers was now clearly apparent.

    Good news came in May with Imperial Concubine Asa announcing another pregnancy.

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    Another change to the Council was caused in August by the death of Jarl Eskild. And the best-qualified replacement was none other than Empress Ingrid herself, for whom diplomacy was her strongest suit. She was also made Dróttseti to see if she might eventually become a loyalist for her husband.

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    That famous Greek centre of culture, Athens, had converted to Germanicism in April 1155. Heves (converted by the Seer) followed in 1156, then three North African counties in 1157. No doubt further provocation for the irate Sunni Caliph!

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    As Toste III contemplated his victory in València and the two continuing wars, his young heir Ottarr had turned one year old. And the relationship with Ingrid also blossomed further as the two appeared to fall genuinely in love. Despite that, for ‘reasons of state’, Toste would be on the look out for a new concubine soon.

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    At this time, the leading claimants to the Imperial throne, after young Ottarr, were the now reviled half-brother Prince Þorfinn, followed by Toste’s cousin Yngvar of the Barony of Okulovka, then Uncle Tyke ‘the Witch Hunter’, who was now heir to the Warchief of the Jomsvikings. Then came the two Danes, Hemming and Ingólfr. Which of course explained their recent plotting shenanigans.

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    NB: There’s no room for it here, but as a postscript a bit later I’ll put out an annotated dynastic tree I’m working on covering these main claimants.

    So in early October 1158, Toste had two wars needing to be dealt with and a large impending battle against English Rebels in Cornouaille.

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    Tulunid Egypt had not yet joined the Jihad; the murder plot against Count Rudolf languished; and Toste had largesse to distribute from the annexation of València – though he might be tempted to keep one of the counties for himself (with one more possible in his demesne, thanks to Ingrid’s boost to state diplomacy after their marriage).
     
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    Chapter 52: The Great Jihad (1158-60)
  • Chapter 52: The Great Jihad (1158-60)

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    The English Revolt

    As the English revolt was largely disabled in England itself, their main army remained intact in Cornouaille. On 6 October 1158 that came to an end when they were struck by a large Russian levy army led by Einnarr, Russia’s top field general (there were so many different armies deployed by this time that most could only afford to be given one commander each).

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    The battle was a routine win for the Loyalist cause, though the Rebels had put up a game enough fight. The Russians stayed on to start retaking the holdings that had been lost to the rebels in past months.

    By 9 January 1159 Salford had fallen to siege, completing the occupation of Lancaster. The large Russian army split into two halves, one going north to Westmorland, the other south to Chester, where the first castle was taken on 12 April.

    The rebellion was finally defeated in the field. Their army had eventually rallied and moved north, heading through Anjou to Maine. The Russians had retaken both holdings in Cornouaille by 21 February and chased the Rebels down in Maine, where they attacked on 10 April. Another tough battle was fought out, but the now ‘leaderless’ (by a recognised commander) Russians prevailed.

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    This prompted negotiations to begin on 7 May and by the 15th, the rebel leader Jarl Sæmundr II had signed their capitulation. Toste’s young nephew Fredrik’s throne had been secured, thanks largely to his powerful uncle’s assistance.

    This meant the troops used would now be free for redeployment to fight the Jihad for Mauretania.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Jihad in North Africa: The 1st Battle of Constantine

    The main – but not only – front for the Mauritanian Jihad from 1158-60 would be in North Africa. On 2 October, reports from coastal observation showed thousands of Jihadists from many countries making their way through Tulunid Libya to the main front, then to the east of Byzantine Tunis.

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    Jarl Rikulfr II was passing through Tulunid Ouled Nail towards besieged Biskra when he encountered the Galician-Calatayud army led by King Raimundo. A local Annaban army was on its way to reinforce its colleagues and would arrive three days later.

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    This would not be enough to save the Jihadis from a massive defeat, but during the combat Russia’s right flank commander Tjudmund was killed in the wild melee. Two Galician nobles were captured during the pursuit: neither were accomplished soldiers, so were ransomed to help offset the considerable monthly deficit the Russians were accruing.

    The commander vacancy created was used to recruit a siege specialist, Toste’s distant cousin Sörkver Rurikid. He would soon be employed in the English sieges, before joining the Jihad defence later.

    No specific message was received about the result of the Hispanian civil war, but it was assumed the rebels may have won. In any case, Badshah Abdullah of Egypt ended up inheriting all of Tulunid Spain on 11 January 1159. The whole realm was united into a single Empire. Tawaret the Usurper and Silo of the revolt both survived and became Abdullah’s vassals.

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    From late January through to 10 April, Abdullah would destroy four sultanate-level titles as he reorganised his new realm and remained neutral in the Jihad.

    As Rikulfr pulled into Biskra, spies reported the progress of over 27,000 Jihadists now snaking their way along the Libyan coast towards Tunisia.

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    A small enemy force entered Bejaija, to Rikulfr’s north, in March so he used the opportunity to ambush them in a narrow pass near the town of El Bekara, killing 1,315 of the 2,440 Jihadists by 31 March.

    The same day, news came that Badshah Abdullah – though known to be personally a coward – had joined his newly united realm to the Abbasid Caliph’s Jihad, bringing another 23,000 men into the conflict and bringing Spain alive again as a theatre of conflict.

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    By mid-April, Rikulfr had pushed forward to Tulunid Constantine, attacking the lead Jihadist army. He aimed to defeat them before too many of their comrades could reinforce the fight. He took an upper hand in the initial skirmishing.

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    To his west, three Russian armies, one with allied contingents from Noregr and Peremyshl, were approaching him. The second of these – another without an assigned commander – engaged a newly belligerent local Tulunid army at Jerada in Snassen on 22 April. The battle would result in a useful win by mid-May, though it had delayed that army for a month.

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    Over in Constantine, Rikulfr’s gamble had backfired as more Jihadist reinforcements arrived. By 6 May the Russians were outnumbered somewhat and the enemy were generally fresher.

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    Casualties were similar on both sides, but it was Rikulfr’s men who broke first, handing the Jihad its first substantial victory on 21 May. Despite this, Toste’s retention of control of Mauretania plus the earlier string of victories had outweighed the loss of those isolated temples in southern Arabia.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Jihad, North Africa: The Battle of Skikda

    On 23 June, the 15,400 troops who had been assisting the English around Lancaster had taken ship and were heading towards western France, where the army that had retaken Cornouaille and administered the final defeat of the rebels at Maine was now waiting.

    Jarl Vagn of Yaroslavl, one of Toste’s best and most experienced generals, had marched his army to the front and by the end of July was attacking the enemy in the 2nd Battle of Constantine. He slightly outnumbered the enemy, who had similarly accomplished commanders and stood on favourable ground at the mountain stronghold of Tébessa. The Germanics had the better of the initial skirmishing, but Jarl Vagn got a bit to close to the fighting on 3 August, taking an arrow through the eye that killed him instantly.

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    After the battle, his commanders position would be taken up by the newly crowned King Ingólfr, but for now the centre was left without a leader. This did not stop the Russians from winning a major victory. The enemy commander, a renowned general named Nizam ibn Abdul-Gafur, was captured during the pursuit. He was deemed too dangerous an opponent to be ransomed – or indeed left alive!

    By mid-August, the army in France had embarked on the passing fleet, with 28,000 troops now commencing the voyage around Spain towards Tunis. And in Spain, a Tulunid force had taken the vulnerable Alcázar de San Juan in Calatrava [worth -4.77% warscore]. This would be a running sore in the future and will be dealt with in the Hispania section below.

    A follow up Norse army won a small battle in Biskra, just west of Constantine, on 7 September (900 of 2,500 Jihadists killed) as the Russians prepared for some larger enemy armies (well over 30,000 men in total) approaching along the Libyan coast and now moving into southern Tunis.

    Next came a larger battle in Bejaija, where the newly arrived King Ingólfr led his army against a mid-sized Jihadist force to great effect, killing almost half of them.

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    It was just as well, as reports now indicated a total of almost 45,000 Jihadists were heading their way. The Russians had almost exactly the same number gathered in eastern Algeria.

    It was just a few days later when word came that the once-great but now rather reduced Samanid Shahdom had joined Caliph Jalil’s Jihad. His army was smaller than the Samanids had once commanded but it posed a potential threat to Toste’s steppe territories.

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    And this brought to Toste’s attention that there had been a major dislocation within the Tulunid Empire some time in the last few months. No notifications had been received, but most of Abdullah’s Egyptian lands had apparently broken away into a welter of smaller states. Most of which had not committed to the Jihad, such as the largest of the new independent realms, that of the Hararid Emir Salim.

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    Only one of these would declare for the Jihad in the next four months – Emir Hussayn of the Abazids.

    The climactic battle that had been brewing for weeks now in North Africa began with the Jihad pushing a large army into Annaba in October. The two Russian armies in Bejaija and Constantine coordinated their marches to arrive in Annaba on the same day, while Sigbjörn’s army followed up from Biskra to Bejaija, knowing more Jihadi armies were approaching from the east.

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    The two sides came together on the plains of Skikda in Annaba on 13 November 1159 in what would prove to be one of the major battles of the Jihad. Jarl Rikulfr had come to take overall command before the battle began, seeking some revenge for his earlier stinging defeat at Constantine. And despite heavy Russian casualties, the Jihadists suffered more than twice as many with well over 9,000 perishing.

    Despite this, yet more Muslim troops were on their way across Libya. But it was decided in January 1160 that the Irish fleet ferrying troops from England and France would bypass the North African fighting and take the war to the Caliph himself.

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    No sieges on other Jihadi lands could generate leverage for victory [ie warscore] and even big wins such as the most recent one only contributed small amounts to the victory stakes. An invasion of Palestine would hopefully mean this war would not last for the many years it seemed to be heading for otherwise.

    With no more significant fighting in North Africa for the few months following the Battle of Skikda, the fleet arrived in the Sea of Palestine in early March. Rikulfr would command one army of around 14,000 to land in El-Arish, while Sörkver the siege master would lead around 12,500 men in a risky opposed landing against 4,000 defenders in Asqalan, two counties to the north.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Jihad: Hispania

    In early October 1158, Empress Taweret was still defending a revolt against her ‘tyranny’, now uncomplicated by the just-finished Russian intervention in València. Those troops were about to head off to North Africa to meet the coming Jihadist threat.

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    Taweret looked to be losing quickly now and as we saw earlier, would lose her fight and be subsumed under united Tulunid rule later that year.

    After the entry of Galicia into the Jihad, the Russian reserve army that had been recovering from the Valèncian campaign in Coruña decided in late January to move south to Santiago to see if they could do any good.

    They would take Santiago Castle on 25 April and it confirmed that taking the holdings of non-Abbasid Jihad members would do no good. Instead, they planned to hook around back through Coruña to Oviedo, to see if they could catch an approaching Tulunid army there ‘for a bit of sport’. But the enemy always seemed to keep a move ahead of them.

    September found the Norsemen in central Spain after a few small skirmishes along the way, heading under Sörkver’s command to take Alcázar de San Juan in Calatrava, which had been taken some months before. They would need to fight another small engagement on their way south.

    With Spain now crawling with small Tulunid forces mobilised after the unification of the country under Abdullah and his entry into the Jihad, the remaining western vassal levies, around 3,200 men in total, were called out on 5 October 1159 and ordered to concentrate in southern France for employment in Spain.

    Sörkver quickly took Alcázar de San Juan by assault on 10 November and headed south to chase a Tulunid army that had just crossed the Strait of Gibraltar to no doubt create mischief behind the lines in the Jihad’s target, Mauretania. Sörkver hoped to pick up around 3,600 Norwegian allies who were then to the south in Malaga.

    Then in January 1160, there was welcome news when Toste’s brother-in-law, King Birger ‘the Butcher’ of Skotland, volunteered to defend Germanicism. His army of over 8,000 men would eventually take ship and arrive in Spain later that year.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Jihad: Southern Russia

    By 5 November 1158, the raiding Abbasid army had reached Oleshye and started a siege. The gathering Russian responders, which included a Young Guard detachment from the capital and a range of levies from Hungary and Russia, aimed to concentrate in Korsun, where they would have a clear line of advance to attack the enemy.

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    It would take until early February 1159 to press home the attack, which was done with devastating effect, the pre-eminent Russian general Einnarr having taken command of the army for the occasion. They would pursue the invaders east past the Sea of Azov.

    Just as they were closing in on the Abbasids in Kuban in mid-March, word came that a larger Jihadi army (around 4,600 men) had arrived and started besieging Aqtöbe, north-east of the Caspian Sea. Einnarr would have to remove the enemy at hand first before the new threat was dealt with.

    Einnarr wiped out the second small Abbasid army in Kuban on 1 April, giving no quarter. He let the other routing army continue to flee as the march east to Aqtöbe started.

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    As they were nearing the beleaguered fort in late July, reports were received of its fall [-4.11% warscore]. A grim revenge would be taken for this outrage as Einnarr, assisted by top commanders Birger and Asclettin, closed in on the enemy on 9 August. After the victory, the enemy’s formidable commander, Esfandiar the Hunter, was taken prisoner. Again, he got the headsman’s axe for being ‘too good at his trade’.

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    After the Samanids declared for the Jihad, that Norse army started moving further east, aiming to skirt to the north of the Caspian Sea and then hook south to guard the border with the Samanids in case they mounted an invasion. And on 5 October, the remaining Russian levies were called out, another 21,000 men to concentrate at the Black Sea port of Oleshye, ready for whatever tasks may arise in the next phase of the Great Jihad.

    Around 8,800 of these troops were sent to gather to the east when scouts reported the 2,600 remnants of the Battle of Aqtöbe had rallied and were heading back towards central Russia. The rest of the troops had by then arrived in Oleshye, awaiting further orders.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Domestic, Court and Dynastic Affairs

    Against the tumultuous background of the Jihad, which eventually brought about the first complete Russian mobilisation in many decades, there was some upheaval at home as well, interspersed with better news.

    All through this period, a firm eye was kept on the treasury. On 2 October 1158, it stood at nearly 6,000 gold crowns, but the monthly deficit was 120 gold (income 63, expenses 183, most on retinue upkeep and reinforcement, a far smaller amount on levy upkeep) and usually hovered from 100-110 throughout as both combat losses and attrition demanded coin to service the war. With no raiding possible, a steady flow of ransoms from some captured commanders and prisoners taken in sieges would provide some supplement.

    At the end of the month, the irritating presence of Jarl Folki of Dauphine again became an issue – and this time, with a Viking reputation and his Warden armour to protect him, Toste decided enough was enough. The mangy dog was challenged to a holmgang!

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    In the end there was no risk as the cowardly Folki declined the challenge - he must have assessed the odds and not liked them. Hopefully this would now put him in his place.

    A few days later, to celebrate, Toste recruited a new concubine, the young and lusty Ulfhildr af Holmgarðr, to bring his complement of ‘intimate companions’ back up to three again. With only one rather frail infant heir, he wanted more spares to guarantee the succession of his line.

    And there seemed to be evidence that all that investment in hospital infrastructure in the home counties was paying off: a smallpox epidemic that had broken out in Bryansk over a year before had not spread into either Toropets or Torzhok, providing a buffer for the capital.

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    Then Asa’s pregnancy ended in an excellent dynastic result in December: a healthy second son named Sturla was welcomed into the Imperial family.

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    Though the Fylkir’s mood was soured a few days later when a drunken conspirator spilled their guts – and the beans – on the plot to kill Count Rudolf. Which despite its strength still seemed to be going nowhere. Toste kept trying anyway.

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    Toste only remembered the need to divest himself of those excess holdings from the Valéncian Holy War at that point. He would keep the well-developed regional capital for himself, the rest distributed to those powerful magnates whose support needed shoring up at that point.

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    Jarl Rikulfr II ‘Son of Hel’ of Savoy and the now cowed Jarl Folki II of Dauphine (personal animus not getting in the way of politics) were both given counties. Warchief Bo of the Jomsvikings and King Jedvard Rurikid of Volga Bulgaria were both given subordinate titles in Valéncia.

    Then as the year was drawing to a close, Empress Ingrid announced her latest pregnancy: a third son, Halsten, would be born eight months later.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    The good news kept coming, with Seer Gnupa reporting his successful conversion of Almiera in southern Hispania to Germanicism in late January 1159. Another useful snub to the Jihadists.

    A month later came new that feuding within the Rurikid clan governing Volga Bulgaria via a war against the tyranny of old Jedvard the Butcher had ended in victory for the rebels. By some political manoeuvring Toste could not exactly decipher, Ingólfr Rurikid became the new King. He would later be deployed to fight in the Jihad as a commander after the death of Jarl Vagn in the 2nd Battle of Constantine in August that year.

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    The latest outrage from the ‘Bad Brother’ Prince Þorfinn was news in March of a plot to kill Toste that had been detected by the Spymaster, with a standard ‘cease and desist’ letter being sent automatically, which Þorfinn would submit to.

    Things at home were relatively quiet for the next few months, until a few weeks after the birth of young Prince Halsten Toste acquired a nasty headache that would just not go away …

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    A mildly successful treatment was administered by Court Physician Gnupa, who thought it might be a case of dysentery. In late August a fever was added to Toste’s woes. Uh oh …

    Planning to ‘eat the fever away’ Toste self-medicated by going on a feasting binge. Perhaps that would help … or not!

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    But still. He’d known the risks and wanted the health benefits, though alas it resulted in him becoming a glutton. At least by this time the smallpox epidemic was starting to abate, never having broken into the home counties.

    Later in September Gnupa was called back – now he thought it was the flu and the treatment he provided was excellent. And so too this latest diagnosis.

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    With the illness setting in, Toste asked to see his heir Ottarr, still only 2, and the Empress. Toste thought Old Chief Ulfr was ‘getting past it’ and Ingrid, now also Chancellor, would make a better regent anyway in case the worst happened. The change was made.

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    This proved a prudent precaution, as Gnupa returned in mid-October to review Toste’s progress. One of the options he offered was a mystical treatment. Interested in this novel approach and having hired Gnupa as a mystic healer in the first place, Toste placed his trust in this treatment. It was a decision he soon came to regret …

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    … many thought the Fylkir, who had cheated death as a child by beating the Bubonic Plague, had finally run out of luck as his life hung in the balance. Even if it would in time make him a kinder, humbler person. If he lived!

    But even as illness and its ‘cure’ debilitated Toste, there was a ray of light. In part due to solidarity in the face of the Muslim threat and perhaps some healing of old wounds, Prince Þorfinn’s opinion of his half-brother had improved since the murder plot earlier in the year.

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    Hoping to bring about a rapprochement, a small sum was sent in November as a gift that would boost that opinion even further. And by January 1160 Þorfinn had left both his factions … meaning there were none at all in the realm at that time.

    And it is clear from the court records of the time that Toste may have been ill but was not incapacitated. New concubine Ulfhildr was pregnant by the end of November 1159.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    The new year came and Toste was still alive … and Gnupa visited once more offering a new treatment. This time, Toste opted for the conservative choice – which despite its stinkiness turned out to be an excellent one!

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    The mystic side-effects were banished early, his abilities returned – less the gluttony but retaining his ‘well-fed’ benefits. On 9 February, with a now sufficient family and needing to boost his rulership abilities, Toste changed his focus to better balance his demesne and vassal management.

    Later that month, he decided the accomplished commander Einnarr would be a better choice of educator for the Crown Prince than the Court Tutor, given Orttarr’s initial education in the ways of struggle.

    Though Toste was still not clear of the flu and remained in some danger, perhaps he had survived the wort part of the illness that had come with his seemingly misplaced trust in ‘mystic healing’ methods, emerging as a better man. And he still had a Great Jihad to contend with, as the Caliph’s reserves of willing warriors from across the Sunni realms had proven larger than the Germanics had anticipated.
     
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    Chapter 53: Arabian Nights (1160-61)
  • Chapter 53: Arabian Nights (1160-61)

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    The Great Jihad: Hispania and North Africa

    With the situation in North Africa currently under control following the great victory in Annaba at the Battle of Skikda in December 1159, in early March 1160 the armies of Einnarr and Hrörekr – over 25,000 in total strength – took ship. Destination: Palestine!

    In was not until 4 May that the next challenge emerged: an Arabic army that had made it to Lemdiyya was attacked by a Russian-Jomsviking-Norwegian army commanded by Sigbjörn, but where Noregr had taken the battlefield command (hence the lack of an initial attack report).

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    By 10 May the battle was quite evenly poised, even though the Germanic army had a considerable advantage in numbers. Their main comparative strength was in heavy infantry and archers, while the large numbers of Arabic cavalry and horse archers seemed to be performing quite well in the skirmish phase. In the end it was a hard-fought battle, with the Germanic forces taking the field of victory.

    Further to the west, another battle where an ally led the attack started on 21 May at Taroudant in Anti-Atlas, where a Tulunid army had been trying to grab a Mauritanian county. But Asclettin and Godi Sveinn of England had interrupted this attempt, winning a comprehensive victory with very few losses by 8 June.

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    In Hispania, the castle of Alcázar de San Juan had once again fallen to a Jihadist assault of nearly 10,000 men on 30 May while Asclettin chased the Tulunids in Mauretania. So when he was done in Anti-Atlas, Asclettin and his English allies started the march back north to relieve the vulnerable holding.

    In eastern Algeria, King Ingólfr was in command of 10,600 men standing guard in Constantine (which had been taken in February, along with Annaba) when the advance guard of large Jihadist army of at least 21,000 men was seen approaching Tunisia on 2 July. He started evacuating the siege and moving west.

    Sigbjörn’s army (which included a total of around 2,000 troops from Noregr and Peremyshl) was approaching from the west to reinforce Ingólfr but was delayed in Orania on 30 July until 10 August when they encountered (and wiped out) a Tulunid force of about 1,000 men. By mid-September, the two armies were planning to join up on the coast to await the approach of the next Jihadist wave.

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    In Hispania, Alcázar de San Juan in Calatrava was under Russian siege again by the end of October and by 6 November was back in Germanic control after an assault against the small Tulunid garrison that had been left behind.

    By mid-November, a large Skottish contingent of over 8,000 warriors had landed in the north-east and was on its way to Barcelona, ordered to join up with the small levy army (around 3,200) that had moved down earlier from southern France. The plan was for these two groups to join, then head on to Calatrava to guard it while the Asclettin’s Russian army headed back to North Africa to meet the renewed Jihad advance there, where the Germanic forces were still falling back in November 1160.

    The combined Germanic forces of Sigbjörn and Ingólfr had finally gathered in Lemdiyya when the advance element of the Jihadist invasion reached Mzab – and took it in a bloody assault in a single day on 16 December, thus earning Caliph Jalil the nickname ‘the Holy’ and once more plunging the warscore due to the taking of a Mauritanian county.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Another large Jihadi army was heading over to Mzab, but this did not stop the Germanic army from taking the initiative to regain Mzab for the Gods. Ingólfr, King of Volga Bulgaria, led the centre division in the attack on 11 January 1161. After a month of heavy fighting, Ingólfr was struck down by one of the opposing commanders as they clashed in the thick of the heaviest fighting.

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    As that battle continued – and remained in the balance as the reinforcing Jihadi army arrived – another fight had begun in Hispania. The combined Russian-Skottish Germanic army had attacked a significantly smaller Tulunid force in Toste’s demesne county of València, which had been put under siege a week before. Asclettin had been detailed to lead the Russians, while the Skottish King Birger had taken overall command of the battle.

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    After a month of fighting, by 12 February the Skots on the right had routed, allowing the enemy left to envelope Asclettin in the centre – even as the Russian left was gaining the upper hand. But the Tulunids were well-led and – against the odds – won the day on 3 March after a hard-fought battle. This unexpected setback put Russian plans in Hispania into disarray.

    Back in Mzab, the Germanic centre had broken and run after Ingólfr’s death. But by 26 February both the enemy’s wings had also routed, one pursued by the Germanic left wing. This left the Germanic right and Jihadist centre – led by one of their top generals against a barely competent Germanic officer – to slug it out in a fierce and deadly melee.

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    In the end, the Gods favoured the Germanic cause, pulling off a hard-fought win and then riding down many Jihadist fighters during the pursuit. The enemy ended up losing well over 11,000 men though at a heavy price of 5,300 Germanic casualties. It was one of the Jihad’s two or three biggest battles of the war and put paid to the threat to eastern Algeria for some time to come.

    The weary Germanic troops were mustered for a quick assault on the walls of Mzab to overwhelm the 300-man garrison left behind by the Jihad. This restored the total Germanic control of their territory in Mauretania and prompted Toste to send an emissary to the Caliph, seeking his surrender.

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    He may have been on the brink of defeat, but Jalil refused to surrender. It would take a little more to make him see the Light of Odin! The war would be decided further east …

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    The Great Jihad: Palestine and Arabia

    When we left the story in Palestine, two Germanic armies had been at sea and on their way to invade Palestine – the gateway to northern Arabia, the heartland of the Abbasid Caliphate. On 13 March 1160 the Vikings stormed ashore. One army under Jarl Rikulfr II of Savoy landed unopposed in El-Arish.

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    The other, under the siege specialist Sörkver, had a trickier task: a seaborne assault against a local army of over 3,000 men in Asqalan. While the Germanics had four times the number of men, they were still unprepared for combat after weeks at sea and also suffer the disadvantage of attacking from the sea. But Sörkver prevailed with relative ease, taking an enemy general prisoner – who was promptly executed.

    As soon as Sörkver won on 8 April, both armies started heading inland – bound for Jalil’s own homelands in Arabia.

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    Petra was reached first by Jarl Rikulfr on 29 April. But Sörkver would have another skirmish to fight in the Negev from 3-12 May, where he wiped out a 1,000-man enemy force for only eight Germanic warriors killed. And took a high-ranking Jihadist nobleman, Emir Mina II of Carai, prisoner. Luckily for the Emir, he was no great soldier and could ransom himself to the tune of 145 gold – most welcome as the treasury steadily ran down during this time of war.

    By the end of May, Sörkver was still moving through Negev (and losing men to the heat as he did so) when the second wave of the Germanic invasion arrived, Einnarr and Hrörekr repeating the landing pattern of the first wave, though this time without opposition.

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    Hrörekr would head north of Sörkver to Wadi Musa, while Einnarr made to secure the southern flank of the invasion by blocking the narrow corridor to the Sinai at Farama.
    Sörkver began the siege of Maan on 2 June and was still losing men to attrition as he set up his siege camp. A week later, Einnarr arrived in Farama to find a smaller Jihadi allied army already in place, which was promptly attacked. But crucially, Einnarr’s men had not yet fully recovered their organisation after their recent sea voyage. The planned to recover in place once this battle was done with.

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    By 24 June that battle continued – the Jihadis having received some reinforcements but still outnumbered – as Hrörekr made it to Wadi Musa. Where the attrition remained quite severe, so he would continue onto the more amendable (and valuable) Hijaz, as Sörkver’s army still lost strength in Maan.

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    In Farama, the battle of Seyan had dragged on for too long. And the enemy had received massive reinforcement, resulting in a nasty defeat by 20 July. Einnarr led the survivors in a rout via Al-Arish to the relative safety of the main body of the Germanic army.

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    In better news, the first Abbasid holding fell in Petra just two days later on 22 July [+5.07% warscore], far outweighing the loss in Farama in terms of bargaining power. And Einnarr finished his rout in Wadi-Musa on 21 August, where he had few enough troops (around 6,700) to lay siege without suffering further attrition.

    On30 August, Hrörekr arrived in Hijaz with 10,800 men left after the difficult transit from Palestine. He fought a minor battle on arrival (killing half the 2,400 defenders for the loss of only 30 men) before stating his siege on 19 September, the same day Mu’tah fell in Maan (where Sörkver now had fewer than 8,200 men but was no longer taking attrition).

    By late November 1160, all the Germanic troops were at siege in Arabia, with an Abbasid-led enemy army counter-marching back through Farama after having earlier headed west.

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    As the year was ending, the Abbasids were in the Negev and advancing on the unfortunate Einnarr in Wadi Musah. Both Petra and Maan were fully occupied by then but Sörkver only had 7,700 men left and Rikulfr in Petra would not be able to get north in time, though he still headed up to Maan to join with Sörkver.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Einnarr was already on his way out of Wadi Musa when he was attacked at Tafila on 3 January 1161. He used all his tactical skill and some favourable defensive terrain to extract as many men as possible, though he still lost a thousand men before he was able to break contact and make an orderly retreat to Maan.

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    A few weeks later, another new reinforcement Russian army – levies ferried down from the Crimea – landed in Asqalan. The Russian armies had concentrated in Maan and the Abbasids had not followed up their victories to pursue Einnarr against this larger force.

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    With progress now being made in Hijaz and attrition once again a problem in Maan, the armies there would break up and head south, taking the war next to Tabuk and Khaybar. Einnarr had left and Birger took over from Sörkver, whose talents were needed elsewhere …

    Shortly after, the Jihadi army was spotted again on the Palestine coast: the Russian reinforcing army was engaged in a landing battle just to their north and were very vulnerable, but the main Abbasid force seemed to be ignoring them, heading in the other direction to El-Arish.

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    The Russians won in Asqalan on 21 February, capturing and executing another prominent enemy commander. They then wasted no time heading inland to join up with the rest of the Germanic forces in north-west Arabia. But as the enemy cleared Palestine to the south-east, this latest army arrived in Wadi Musa in mid-March and settled in to besiege it.

    By this stage, of the war, The Caliph was losing but still some distance off from surrender [warscore +62%].

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    The Great Jihad: Southern Russia and the East

    The war had spread far and wide by March 1160 and was to spread further, as a new front was opened in the east. The first major development in this region was the entry of the Muradid Sultanate in Persia into the Jihad on 1 May. Sultan Abdul commanded over 18,000 soldiers, many of whom would presumably be on their way north or west.

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    This meant 40 kings, badshahs, shahs, emirs, sultans, sheikhs and satraps had now answered Caliph Jalil’s call to holy war.

    One of them was the Darabid Satrap Abolhassan, who had personally led the army besieging Cheremisa in the south of the Russian Empire. As noted in the previous chapter, a levy army had been detached to deal with this small invasion.

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    Birger had taken charge, leading the attack that saw a tactical victory won by 20 July and the enemy pursued south. Birger then travelled further east, around the Caspian Sea to take command of the larger army that had been sent to guard the Samanid border some months previously.

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    He took command on 31 July and began to cross the border a couple of days later. Depending on Samanid resistance, his objective was to head all the way across the Samanid realm to the isolated Abbasid capital on the south coast of the Caspian Sea.

    A skirmish was fought on arrival in Kara-Kum on 1 October, the small enemy company wiped out to a man in just four days. Birger pressed on south-west for Tabaristan.

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    In southern Russia, the army that had won in Cheremesid was on the Coast of Taurida by 20 November, embarking on the ships of the Irish levy fleet to sail to Palestine – the reinforcements mentioned in the section above that would land in Asqalan in February 1161.

    Birger arrived in Tabaristan without incident on 25 November to find no enemy army to oppose them. Sörkver took over the siege of the castle at Firuzkuh, swapping with Birger who headed to Palestine and Arabia.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    On 2 May, the third holding in Tabaristan fell [these three combined contributed 18.1% to the warscore] and brought the Caliph to the full realisation that his Jihad had been lost. Jalil was forced to pay a large indemnity and Sunni moral authority badly damaged for the next twenty years.

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    In all, 12 Abbasid holdings had been taken by siege in Arabia and Tabaristan, proving the clinching factor when added to the maintenance of control in Mauretania. The balance of battle victories in Toste’s favour had been necessary, but just the icing on the cake in terms of bringing the Jihad to a close. Many of the smaller battles had been too small to ‘register’ as contributors to the victory.

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    Note: major battles highlighted (that attracted warscore), including the three larger defeats suffered at Constantine, Seyan and València.

    The Jihad for Mauretania of 1158-61 had ended in a victory for the Germanic faith that had seen Norse troops travel deeper into Muslim lands than they ever had before.

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    The war had seen no territory gained by the Rurikid dynasty but there had been great shifts in the Tulunid realm, with Hispania becoming part of their empire in the west at the cost of the fragmentation of most of their former lands in Egypt.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    At Home

    As always, there was still plenty going on in the realm and at court while the Jihad played out. A large peasant revolt (over 7,200 rebel scum) broke out in Breda on 1 April 1160. A large force of 12,000 levies was sent from southern Russia to deal with them, assuming no local authority was likely to do so.

    New concubine Ulfhildr gave Toste a fourth son in late June: the current Imperial line now seemed to be well established, with ‘spares’ galore. And potentially troublesome brothers for the next Emperor!

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    The personal news improved when Toste finally emerged from his bad bout of flu – and some of its hazardous treatments – in mid-July.

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    Asa fell pregnant in early August, safely giving birth to a daughter, Vigdis, the following March. And the Steward, King Refr, showed his worth at just the right time with a lucrative extra tithe delivered in October to help fund the war effort.

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    For those (and there were many of them) still suspicious of Aleta Lade, news came from Noregr in November that she had earned a reputation as a Witch Hunter! While giving birth to a brood of children. Maybe she would not be of any concern to Toste in the future …

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    Another revolt – this one far smaller – broke out in Ravenna on 1 December. This one would be left for now. The next day, the powerful (and generally very loyal) King Refil of Irland was making a nuisance of himself in Holmgarðr. This time, Toste decided the behaviour had to be reined in. Their relationship could stand it well enough.

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    The very next day, word of the Emperor’s Justice (and ambition) began to spread throughout the realm. All his governing abilities benefited – stewardship and learning the most.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    On 6 January 1161, the Russian levy army finally reached Breda with 14,000 men taking on a rebel force reduced by disease and garrison sorties to only 6,600. They were soon defeated, with the captured rebel leader executed. With all this going on, the methods of execution began to become more elaborate and, well, nasty. The unfortunate Adriaen was bitten to death after being flung into a snake pit. The army began marching south to confront the rebels in Ravenna.

    With a good number of Russian commanders dying in battle during the Jihad and the local talent pool becoming a little diluted, word went out with five new officers of renown [martial 19-23] invited from far and wide to join the court in late February. And around this time, Ulfhildr once more became pregnant.

    And the Russian levies weren’t needed in Ravenna after all: A Swedish force of over 4,000 had assembled on its own initiative under Godi Valdemar and defeated the scum on 29 April. When asked what to do with the captured leader, the answer was of course execution. And for testing Toste’s patience, he was subjected to the ultimate punishment. Examples had to be set, after all!

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    And so, with peace fully enforced by 2 May 1161, his health returned and a stable full of young princelings, Fylkir Toste III ‘the Purifier’ was able to survey his realm with satisfaction. Though his army reserves had taken a considerable beating over this time, especially the demesne and vassal levies.

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    The recent influx of funds from tithes and the peace deal had helped keep the treasury healthy enough so no restrictions to retinue funding had become necessary. Toste’s four sons had pushed the rest of the claimants down the line of succession. And València was already providing a healthy levy, even though its tax base had only barely begun to recover.

    A long repatriation would be required for the troops in Arabia and after that – well, time would tell what Toste might plan to do next.
     
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    Chapter 54: A Dark Horseman (1161-65)
  • Chapter 54: A Dark Horseman (1161-65)

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    After the Jihad

    As the Jihad ended in early May 1161, four Russian armies totalling over 38,000 Guard and levy troops needed to march from Arabia back the boats docked off Palestine. For some, more attrition in transit would be suffered along the way. They would not all be fully embarked and heading back west until mid-July.

    The army in Tabiristan started with 12,000 men as the war ended and it would take over six months to eventually make it back to Abkhazia on the Black Sea via the Caucasus, with only around 8,000 levies left to be sent back to their homes in mid-November, while the Young Guard remainder of about 1,400 were called back to Holmgarðr.

    On 17 May, after the North African army levies had been sent home once on Russian territory, the two remaining forces – a larger Guard army (10,800) and the remaining Jomsvikings (down to around 4,250) performed their Raiding Toggle ceremonies and headed to their raiding grounds. The Jomsvikings west to Fes, the Guard army east towards Byzantine Tunis.

    As these redeployments were being made, Ravenna was again troubled by a peasant revolt. The fleet returning from Palestine was just off the toe of Italy at the time, so was diverted up the Adriatic to deal with the scum. They would arrive in Ferrara on 4 August, with levies and one of the large vassal fleets (from King Refr of Sardinia and Corsica) sent home and the remaining 8,000 Guard troops under General Birger recuperated from their voyage before they would strike the rebels.

    The rebels were attacked and defeated in Ravenna from 15-30 October 1161, for light Russian casualties. As had become standard (and would be for subsequent rebellions over the next few years) the rebel leader was hung on the battlefield. By early November Birger’s army was at sea again and heading for Tunisia to join the raid there.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    The African Raid

    A week later, Mahdia was being raided by the other Guard army and Birger would arrive in Gabes on 23 December. Alas, it took him months to realise his raid was not contributing any gold to the fleet anchored in the Golfe de Hammamet: no Godi had been engaged to invoke the Sacred Raiding Toggle before they had set off either from Palestine or Italy on the way over! This was eventually remedied during a short stop in Sardinia and the real raid of Gabes started on 20 September 1162.

    As the now three armies continued to their raids, from 11 October 1162 to 17 March 1163 a new peasant rebellion arose and was then defeated by local vassal troops, its leader going straight to the noose. During this time, vassal fleets (augmented by Toste’s small personal demesne fleet of around 25 ships) were regularly rotated through raid support duties to avoid their owners’ resentment growing too great.

    The African raids ended up gaining 1,600 gold for around 900 raiders lost between August 1161 and October 1165. By that time, the two Guard armies had headed over to continue in Sicily and Italy, with the Jomsvikings (now back to their full strength of around 7,700 Norse holy warriors) having finished raiding in Fes and Orania to begin work in Tel Atlas.

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    A map showing the African raiding campaign’s results to 27 October 1165.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Raiding in Sicily and Italy

    After the two Guard armies had moved across to start raiding Byzantine Sicily in March-May 1163, another revolt broke out, this time on the islands of Mallorca, with almost 4,700 rabble rising on 1 January 1164. Birger would finish the first part of his raid on Panarmos in February before heading over to destroy the rebellion, which was finished with a victorious battle and rebel hanging on 28 July. Birger then returned to finish his raid on Panarmos.

    The raid progressed to the main Italian peninsula in late 1164, where Birger’s Guard army raiding Kroton was rather recklessly attacked by a smaller Byzantine army on 4 December at Umbriatico.

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    Almost 900 men were lost but the Byzantines lost almost half their army and would not trouble the raiders again for the next year.

    Asclettin came over from Sicily by ship via Rom to start raiding rich Interamnion in mid-March 1165. Less than a month later, yet another revolt erupted, this one about 3,800 peasants in Narbonne. Birger, finished in Kroton by late July, took ship for southern France.

    After reorganising in Melgueil for around a month, he attacked the rebels on 19 September. By 1 October it was all over, another rebel leader left swinging from a tree. Birger then headed west towards Spain, where he would look for a new raiding target near the newly expanded Russian territory in Aragon.

    By 10 September 1165 the raid in Italy was done, with Asclettin starting the march north to Krain, where he could give the Teutonic Order’s holdings a good ransacking. The raids on Byzantine Sicily and Southern Italy had taken another 1,817 gold krona at the cost of just over a thousand raiders, from March 1163 to September 1165.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Vassal Wars and Successions

    The period was a very active one for ambitions Russian lords – and also one that saw five major successions among the most powerful of them. The first play was by Swedish King Kolbjörn ‘Son of Loki’ who began an attempt to conquer distant Bayda, on the Gulf of Aden (and near those isolated Russian temple holdings in Al-Ahoaf and Hadramawt). This was launched on 4 May 1161, just two days after the Jihad victory. The Abbasids had been weakened by the Jihad defeat and Sviþjod was powerful but this still seemed a long-shot gamble. The war would continue to and beyond October 1165.

    Old King Sigtrygg of Lotharingia – he of the Magnificent Moustache – died in his sleep in December 1161, with a son of just six years (the already handsome King Geirr) inheriting in a regency.

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    In February 1162, the ever-expansionary King Refr ‘the Sword of Frey’ of Sardinia and Corsica moved to expand his Spanish holdings from Coruña into Oviedo, which would be won almost exactly one year later. Not to be outdone, King Bagge ‘the Holy’ of Bohemia looked to build on his southern Spanish holdings by launching a seaborne conquest of Coimbra in Galicia in March 1162, though that would take until late August 1165 to complete.

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    By then, Refr was already a year into a conquest of Santiago, with King Raimundo facing the continued steady erosion of his realm.

    Old Kolbjörn would not live to see the resolution of his bold conquest of Bayda: a great survivor over many years, he too dies a peaceful death, with his talented son Halsten inheriting the Kingdom of Sviþjod in May 1162. The Empress would remain Chancellor but Halsten was immediately given his father’s seat as an Advisor on the Imperial Council, which left him very happy.

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    One of the Volgar Bulgarian jarls, Þorolfr of Itil, announced a bold move to prepare an invasion of the Ardeshirid Shahdom out on the Eastern Steppe in October 1162. For now, he had only a little more than half the forces of the incumbent Shah Reza. But maybe he could assemble a larger force over time. No result had been obtained before October 1165.

    The quick rotation of Irish kings continued when King Refil ‘the Sword of Tyr’ succumbed to gout in February 1163. His son Ingjald Fróni – who looked suspiciously like the ‘naughty Prince Þorfinn’ – took over the realm and his father’s Council position, keeping this powerful and aggressive vassal kingdom loyal to the Fylkir.

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    Refil had begun a holy war for Timbuktu against Shia Caliph Bannu of the Malian Caliphate in June 1161 (there was a separate Emirate of Mali and a Malian Revolt at the same time). Ingjald would complete it in December 1163, earning himself the county of Oualata and the nickname ‘Sword of Frey’ in the process.

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    Meanwhile, one of his most active vassals in Africa, Jarl Hrane of Hlymrek, completed his own holy war for Timbuktu in February 1163, taking three counties including Timbuktu itself and the name ‘Sword of Thor’. A must-have kind of title for any self-respecting Russian Norse marcher lord of the time!

    While all this marcher lording was going on, Jarl Folki ‘the Tenacious’ of Dauphine made a big land grab of his own, fighting a successful Holy War for Aragon between May 1161 and April 1163. The Germanic absorption of Spain retained solid momentum.

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    And following up his recent success against the Caliphate of Mali, the King of Irland launched a new conquest of Djenne against Emir Farbas Kalabi of Mali in May 1164, which continued into October 1165.

    The series of major vassal successions was not yet over: King Kolbjörn of Germany died unexpectedly of pneumonia in April 1165, aged only 35. Another potentially long regency would follow as his six-year-old son Kettil inherited the crown. And with all the trappings of power available to Toste, the new King of Germany remained impressed enough for now to be a loyal subject of the Fylkir.

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    And then it was the biggest and boldest of them all who was to shuffle off his mortal coil in June 1165. The inimitable King Refr finally yielded to the stress of his long and active reign, suffering a fatal stroke. A new Imperial Steward was found – a eunuch named Bonga, apparently left as a gift by a travelling merchant a few years before.

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    The new King Tjudmund was by contemporary accounts a mediocre, pox-ridden lunatic, so was unlikely to be a candidate for any active ministerial role on the Council. Though he was given his father’s minor role of Lawspeaker to help keep him happy – and was otherwise known to be contented enough with his lot. One of his brothers was heir and it was doubtful where Tjudmund would produce a son of his own, or match up to the formidable example his father had provided.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Foreign Affairs

    In July 1161 Toste’s cousin King Hemming II of Denmark lost his long civil war against a faction led by the new King Ivar II Bleik ‘the Drunkard’. Ivar was apparently thoroughly revolting and cowardly, but did control a Norse kingdom which he soon entered into the Pagan Pact against Toste.

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    Toste’s daughter Sochava was soon betrothed to Ivar’s youngest son, reassuring the new Danish king, removing him from the pact and cementing a new non-aggression pact.

    Ivar proved to be a whining pest but was easily handled by Toste in August 1162, turning a potentially messy little dispute into relationship benefit.

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    As the Russian capital gained wealth and renown in an area once considered poor and backward, Toste sought information on the other great cities of the known world, as measured by wealth. At least 20 more prosperous cities were identified (there may have been more), from the outrageously wealthy Indian county of Navasarika to Medina in Arabia. Most of these cities were in the east and benefited from being major trade depots on the Silk Road.

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    Mecca and Delhi were the next two most wealthy locations. Venice was the most wealthy in Europe, with great trade connections despite not being on the Silk Road: perhaps a good target for future Russian conquest? Of the most wealthy cities in the world, Russia controlled four, with two directly owned by the Emperor himself. Rome, Paris and Pisa still ranked above Holmgarðr in terms of tax income.

    In late 1163, Toste was not yet ready to launch his next great campaign of conquest – but this did not stop him and his advisers from considering potential targets for another Great Holy War. In the east, Bulgaria, Greece and Alania had good strategic reasons to drive a Russian takeover.

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    While in Western Europe and North Africa, León, Andalusia, Sicily and Africa were all possibilities.

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    Meanwhile, the Middle east continued to fragment, with the decadence of the Muradid Dynasty prompting a revolt which overthrew the Sultanate and split it asunder in late 1163. And judging by current opinions of Caliph Jalil ‘the Holy’ – who had lost a Jihad and was a renowned womaniser – the Abbasids may not be far off from suffering the same fate.

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    But it was the Tulunids who were the next to suffer, with a new decadence revolt breaking out in late July 1165 in one of their North African holdings.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    The ‘Salzburg Saga’

    For years now, Toste had been trying to gain control of Salzburg, one of the last isolated holdout enclaves in Europe. Chief Rudolf remained in hiding, refusing calls to be vassalised and evading all Toste’s attempts to murder him. In May 1161 he briefly left the defensive pact, but Toste could not declare war on him as his levies were still returning from the Jihad.

    The murder plot continued to languish with no attempts made, despite new adherents being bribed into joining in November 1161 and January 1162 (around 200% plot strength). Which was just as well really, as Rudolf died from a heart attack that February, aged 54. His son Meinhard was no more inclined to join the Empire than his father, both for cultural reasons and now an intense dislike of the would-be murderous Fylkir.

    But in July 1163 an opportunity arose and this time Toste was ready to seize it. Meinhard left the pact and Toste pounced after a final offer to join Russia peacefully was rejected. He would just use his own levies in Spain, France and Hungary for the job.

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    Meinhard’s army ventured north to Passau, where it would eventually take two holdings by September 1164. But this was ignored while the Russian army methodically took all four of Salzburg’s holding from December 1163 to October 1164, with no besieging troops lost.

    Meinhard gave up even as his army was tangling with a local vassal force, surrendering his county, which was allocated to the King of Germany – not long before his death, as it happened.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Court, Politics and Dynasty

    As was often the case, while the outward manifestations of Imperial affairs got the most attention in scholarly accounts of the time and later histories, much of the drama happened at home in the personal and political doings of the great continent-spanning Rurikid Empire.

    Not all small Norse realms were as recalcitrant as Salzburg when it came to voluntarily joining the Rurikids. Chief Ingjald of Peremyshl – a former peasant leader who had achieved independence from Denmark during their recent civil war – had been the first to join the defence against the recent Jihad. And he was happy to join the Empire when asked nicely just two days after the Jihad was won.

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    Toste raised another cavalry retinue company soon after, and in 1165 would add one more of those and a shock company to grow the Young Guard in Holmgarðr.

    Alvör, Toste’s disgraced former concubine, had retained her post as Court Tutor. Toste could no longer stand the sight of her though, so in mid-May dismissed her, to be replaced by the start general and acknowledged genius Asclettin Hvitserk, who was an even better money manager than general. Then within a month King Refr solved the problem of her continued presence by marrying Alvör when his previous wife died!

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    Toste, who no longer lacked for children and male heirs, would father three more (two boys and a girl) between September 1161 and November 1163. By that time, he had ten children: six boys and four girls. But one of them, Gnupa, was born both sickly and not very bright. Still, he retained value as a potential marriage pawn and Toste was an attentive enough father for the time and his situation and ensured Gnupa received the medical care he needed to survive.

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    Another small realm, this one in Norway, sought to secure its future by becoming a part of the world’s greatest empire, Chief Geirr of Raumariki agreeing willingly to become a vassal in November 1161.

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    From October 1161 to December 1164, six more counties would convert to Germanicism: three in North Africa and one each in Bohemia, Spain and the Steppe. Over the same period, Prince Þorfinn was back in, then out, then in various factions opposing the interests of his half-brother. And by November 1164 he had taken to wearing a dark hood … being a known glutton, it was speculated (without any direct proof) that he may have joined the Fellowship of Hel. But nothing was alleged for now.

    Basking in the relative peace following the victory over the Jihad in 1161, early 1162 saw another Great Blot held at the Imperial Court of Nygarðr. Its two months of religious pageantry, sacrifices and revelry would help bolster opinion, prestige and army morale for the following year.

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    And if some guests forgot themselves at time, Toste professed public disapproval but secretly did not mind ‘a bit of steam’ (ahem) being blown off during the feasting!

    With ships back in fashion again for storing treasure on seaborne raids, the castle shipyard in Rouen began an upgrade [to Level III] in February 1162. Not long after, word came that Ulfr ‘the Seducer’ of Memel, former regent and inveterate cocksman until the end, died of ‘severe stress’ (perhaps a heart attack while ‘on the job’) at the ripe age of 74. He was succeeded by one of his 13 children!

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    The Hungarian demesne county of Pest went from prospering to flourishing in August, pleasing the Emperor who continued to leave his crown focus there. But a few days later, Seer and Court Physician Gnupa died of natural causes, as more of the old guard went to meet their ancestors.

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    He was replaced in both appointments by a learned, loyal and rather eminent successor brought in from the wider realm, a commoner named Refil. Whose loyalty was further reinforced by a ‘sign-on bonus’.

    By early 1163, Toste still had just enough numbers on the Council to pass a law that would further limit its powers, using his own deciding vote to break a deadlock. He now also had sole say over who could be banished within the realm.

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    Across-the-board advances in technology came in April 1163, with shipbuilding, trade practices and religious customs all progressing.

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    Then another death, this one in the Imperial dynasty came in May when Uncle Tyke ‘the Witch Hunter’ fell to a camp fever epidemic at the age of 52. He never did get to take over the Jomsvikings. Toste’s spirits were boosted though: in July all the recent raiding had enhanced his reputation as a Viking ravager to new heights.

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    To celebrate all these recent successes and take advantage of a fully revived treasury, in December 1163 Toste commissioned the most ambitious weapon yet to be constructed for a Russian Emperor. By February 1164 Master Weaponsmith Einnarr of Eu was at work. Should Toste one day command troops in person, the famed cavalry of the Imperial Guard would benefit from this new lance.

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    When the chance came for the weapon to be improved even further, no expense was spared and all up 3,000 gold krona was lavished on this project. If the weapon did not turn out as well as expected or hoped for, it may be named Toste’s Folly in the future!

    By this time, the Imperial and vassal levy reserves, Guard and Jomsvikings had almost recovered to full strength of around 205,000 troops in total – a recovery of around 70,000 from the lowest it had sunk to during the Jihad.

    The new Seer proved to be diligent and competent: there seemed to be no doubt as to the guilt of a Hel-worshipping apostate when Refil presented the wretch in July 1164. His sins were soon purified in a cleansing flame …

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    More good news followed with the completion of Toste’s mighty lance (which, given the number of children he had sired, some took to be a metaphor for his Manly Weapon). And though costly, it did not disappoint! For hundreds of years Rurik’s old battleaxe, the ‘Neckbiter’, been the primary weapon of Rurikid rulers.

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    No more: Death Strike would prove a legendary weapon and would also make any Russian emperor a fearsome opponent in a personal duel. The next fool to challenge or provoke Toste to a holmgang would surely pay the ultimate price for their folly.

    By mid-1165, Crown Prince Ottarr was still undersized and physically weak for his age. Eight-years-old and a brooding child. Toste wanted to arrange a betrothal for him but could not: at some point, it seemed he had inherited the Barony of Kostroma [I don’t recall ever awarding it to him …], making him a junior ruler and not a direct vassal to his father.

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    It would have to wait … in the meantime any marriage proposal was left subject to his father’s approval.

    Toste got around to starting a new hospital for Valencia in late October 1165: “You can never be too careful”, he observed. His words proved eerily prophetic when word reached the court on 4 November that a confirmed outbreak of the dreaded Black Death had occurred just three days before in Greece!

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    The isolated case that had almost killed the Emperor in his youth had now arisen on a greater scale. It was of course unknowable whether this epidemic would be as universal and devastating as the first a hundred years before, back in the late 1060s onwards. But there was a good chance the great hospitals of the Imperial demesne counties would be severely tested in due course. Toste started to appreciate having sired so many sons …
     
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    Chapter 55: Defying Death (1165-68)
  • Chapter 55: Defying Death (1165-68)

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Gravestones, Milestones and Foundation Stones

    Late 1165 saw a new outbreak of the terrifying Black Death that had ravaged the entire known world a century before. This one was centred in Greece and by mid-November 1165 new and alarming reports were coming in – from Athens, a Russian outpost and the next city the plague spread to.

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    By early March, the Plague was spreading north and south from its original source, also hopping across the short sea gap to eastern Crete. A month later, it had reached Constantinople and into the north-west corner of Anatolia but not yet as far north as the Danube – the border with Russia proper.

    This concerning news ensured hospital improvements kept being built where possible, with a new base-level hospital started in the Imperial demesne county of Pest – it should be ready by May 1167: would that be in time to be of help? It was finished without having been put to the test, with a sick house started straight away and also completed in April 1168, with a leper colony begun at that time.

    In early July, the Plague only seemed to be spreading very slowly. Elsewhere, the Empire was also coping with multiple epidemics, including two separate outbreaks each of measles and slow fever.

    In December 1166, a Russian raiding army passed Venice – and a reminder it was one of Russia’s great cities [which I missed in the review in the previous chapter].

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    As the year was drawing to a close, the spread of the Black Death seemed – mercifully – to have stalled. But the other four epidemics in Russia continued and a new one of consumption had broken out on the steppe. The measles in northern Spain and France was proving particularly nasty, with some notable figures (Russian and foreign) falling victim to it.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    1 January 1167 was the tercentenary of the founding of the Rurikid dynasty [and the start of Part 1 of this AAR, Blut und Schlacht, back in September 2017] as the Petty Kingdom of Holmgarðr under the semi-legendary Rurik himself. He would scarcely have been able to imagine how vast the empire of his descendants would grow.

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    The milestone was also celebrated with the integration of the Kingdom of Lotharingia into the de jure Russian Empire after a century of assimilation.

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    Three hundred years on, the Reformed Germanic faith was also the greatest in the world, with twice the devotees of the next largest of Hinduism closely followed by Sunni Islam.

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    Cultural assimilation was a slower process but the adoption of Norse ways had also spread very widely from one end of the Empire to the other, especially in the British Isles and much but not all of Russia, with strong pockets of original cultures persisting even close to the Rurikid home counties.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Toste’s own counties also thrived, with both Rouen and Ladoga celebrating economic growth as the tercentenary was still being celebrated.

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    From March 1167 to January 1168, Valencia’s hospital would see a new sick house (L1) begun and completed, with a soup kitchen built (January-December 1168) and improvement of the sick house then commenced.

    Torzhok’s hospital was also improved with a new chapel being started in March 1167 and finished on time in January 1168. All these projects were funded from a healthy treasury that was constantly being replenished by a steady raiding program.

    When capacity became available, new retinue companies were also added to the New Guard based in the capital as the nucleus of a strategic reserve, with shock (August 1167) and housecarl (August 1168) companies being added.

    By March 1168 the Black Death remained contained almost completely with Greece, but consumption was spreading like wildfire in the east – though more to foreign lands in the south and east. None of the new medical facilities had been tested out – yet.

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    The only conversion during the period happened in Coimbra (Spain) in April 1168.

    As the year drew to a close, the situation remained largely similar, though the punishing measles outbreak in the west was coming to an end.

    In August 1168, Toste’s available troop strength was the greatest Russia had ever seen, with 234,000 men on call: almost 21,000 demesne levies, a retinue of over 24,400, the 7,700 men of the Jomsvikings on permanent contract and vassal levies of over 181,000 available for call-up. As were 2,600 ships.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Raids and Revolts

    In November 1165 the raid on Krain (Teutonic Order) had only just begun, as had that on Tulunid Tell Atlas, with a third raid on Navarra beginning before the end of the same month. These would all be on counties bordering Imperial territory, so the raiding fleet was disbanded in December. 1166 would be spent in routine raiding.
    A large peasant revolt erupted in Léon (in Brittany, north-western France) in January 1167 which was responded to by Birger’s raiding army when it finished in Navarra in early February. But alas, before he could run down the rebel army, the noted campaigner would die on the approach march from the measles, then rampant in western France, at the age of 50.

    A newly appointed general named Sigtrygg [Martial 23] took command of the army in Léon and chased the rebels to nearby Vannes. Herbert’s rebel army was caught there and soundly defeated, with the aid of some passing levies of the Jomsviking Warchief. The rebel leader suffered the standard fate.

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    Over in Italy, Asclettin had been raiding Gaeta since February 1167 when he was alerted to a large Byzantine army approaching from the south. After three holdings had been sacked, he broke camp and successfully evaded to Rome in early June.

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    From there Asclettin was sent to join Sigtrygg in Spain. However, the redeployment was interrupted as he passed Genoa in August. Another large peasant revolt had broken out, this a more dangerous Orthodox religious uprising based in Foggia. Asclettin was ordered to retrace his tracks and try to end the revolt while evading the three Byzantine armies in the general area. If they massed, they would have more than 30,000 men available.

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    Asclettin duly closed with the Orthodox rebels in mid-October 1167, dealing them a sound defeat and ending the rebellion without having to tangle with the regular Byzantine army, which had left the area by then.

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    The warrior-priest Daniel got the usual punishment. With the coast clear of Byzantine forces, Asclettin went over to raid Naples next.

    In Africa, the raiding had progressed from Tell Atlas and Constantine to Annaba by late December 1167. Toste was surprised when the Shia Caliph Bannu of ‘Eastern Mali’ declared a claim war for Timbuktu. The Jomsviking raiding army in Annaba would finish its business there first before responding; Bannu was unlikely to make any progress in the meantime.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    On 1 March 1168, it was the turn of the peasants in Thouars to raise the banner of revolt. By now, Toste was just getting a little vexed about all these ‘pissant rebellions’. In mid-June, Sigtrygg had finished sacking the Tulunid county of Dax and headed north to deal with the scum. It was all over by 8 August, after which the Rurikid archive states that the rebel leader “Turstin died thrashing in the drowning-pit on the order of Fylkir Toste III”. Just desserts.

    The Jomsvikings ended the sack of Annaba on 8 August, as Turstin was being drowned for his impudence in Thouars. Led solely by Jomsvikings officers, the army began the long trek down to Timbuktu in order to deal with the irritating Malian attack, which by then saw a small army besieging Arouane with as yet no vassal response. Sigtrygg headed south again to commence a raid on Armagnac (also held by the Tulunids), where he would arrive on 28 September.

    The last three years had seen three separate raiding campaigns, sometimes interrupted by ‘rebellion duty’ rake in around 3,000 gold (just from looting) that costed a little over 3,200 casualties.

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Vassal and Foreign Affairs

    Such was the power of Russian vassals these days that in late 1165 a mere Chief was willing to take on a Persian Shah in a Holy War. Ale was the chief of five counties, to be fair, but even so it was a bold attempt; he made need some allies to succeed against the Ardeshirid Shah Reza ‘the Great’.

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    The new King Halsten of Sweden showed some early promise when he managed early in 1166 to win the conquest begun by his father back in May 1161 of far-off Bayda, against the weakened Abassid Caliph Jalil.

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    Similarly, the new King of Sardinia and Corsica won the conquest of Santiago in February 1166, usurping the duchy title from King Raimundo of Galicia just five days later into the bargain.

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    Just a couple of months after the surprising conquest of Bayda, Halsten was at it again, now with his sights set on taking the county of Berbera – the capital of the independent realm of the same name. For some reason, this action earned him the popular epithet ‘the Just’. The Berbers may not have agreed!

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    As we saw earlier, the Black Death had spread to Constantinople but not much further into Anatolia in 1166. One high profile victim was the former Basileus of the East Romans (and notable opponent of the Russians in a few wars), Alexandros ‘the Evil’ Makedon, who had been overthrown years before in favour of his son.

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    Then yet another of the ‘old guard’ of Russian vassal kings died in August 1167. Old King Bagge was succeeded by his grandson, Bagge II – another mediocre-looking new generation ruler who would have to exceed the low expectations his skills and characteristics gave rise to.

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    The next to fall victim to one of the epidemics sweeping the West was the Badshah of Tulunid Hispania, for whom measles was the silent killer. His son Yassir inherited a powerful realm but one beset by internal revolts and hostile Russian neighbours who took turns raiding and conquering their lands.

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    The various ongoing vassal wars (some relatively minor and internal so not detailed here) continued through 1168.

    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    Court and Dynasty

    Another son was born to Fylkir Toste in December 1165 with his concubine Asa. The young lad was sickly at birth and, as usual, the Court Doctor was called in to see what he could do. Dag would remain somewhat frail for a while but a reasonable treatment by Seer Refil seemed to at least get him past the most dangerous early period.

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    Meanwhile, Prince Þorfinn ‘the Half Brother’ Rurikid of Heves continued to be an ‘up and down’ prospect. Long shunted back along the line of succession by Toste’s many sons, he was usually up to a bit of factional mischief but never anything really serious. His opinion of Toste improved further in February 1166 [to +40] when Empress and Chancellor Ingrid improved relations with him.

    Maybe Þorfinn overestimated his influence when he tried to get Toste to grant him the neighbouring county of Pest some months later. He was put off politely but continued to take part in factional politics. When a vassal succession caused an excess of direct vassals for the Emperor a few weeks later, Toste used the opportunity to transfer his half-brother’s vassalage contract to Jarl Rikulfr II of Savoy.

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    To the amusement of many – including Loki, it was said – within a few weeks he had joined a faction plotting against his new liege! Some things just never seem to change.

    Seer Refil, still on a mission for his Purifying Fylkir to hunt apostates, found another very appropriate target in September, presenting him to his liege with assurance. Sigtrygg of Lorraine had a number of unpleasant traits, however the clincher was his reputation as a cannibal! Toste had rarely had an easier decision to make.

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    Refil, in his other role as the Court Physician, had more ideas for improving the health and wealth of the demesne counties. And as the winter snows deepened a wicked plot by one Eilif of Bern to seduce Toste’s concubine Ilmi was exposed and – as far as the Fylkir knew – foiled. Now, if he arose as a holmgang opportunity, no time would be wasted in issuing a challenge!

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    ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

    The next such chance came many months later, after a fairly quiet year so far at court, with a relative of the Fylkir from the Belo Ozero line of the dynasty. Jarl Hrolfr was actually quite fond of Toste but a number of things made Toste dislike him.

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    One of which was the fact Hrolfr had at some point killed another member of the family. Which, ironically, Toste would be guilty of if he slew his kinsman in the combat – which was very likely. With regret, he kept his Death Strike lance sheathed.

    At the very start of the new year of 1168, an opportunity came to Toste to finally end a long and possibly quite dangerous situation – with his old tutor, Aleta Lade! The death of another old rival gave him pause to reflect; and the decision he made led to something of a long-distance reconciliation between the two.

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    He chose that over making a new friend – but having a genius daughter of the devil no longer being a personal rival was a chance too good to pass up!

    Not long after this, old Refil died a natural death, leaving a vacancy on the Council and for the role of court physician, for which no-one in the realm appeared to be qualified. The Gydja of Tikhvin was competent but extremely loyal, getting the role as Imperial Seeress. But a new doctor would need to be recruited.

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    The word went out and a few weeks later, a learned herbalist was brought forward. Toste decided to take a chance with this Sigrid: perhaps it might work out better than it had with that mystic!

    In any case, yet another son was born to Toste with Empress Ingrid in late April 1168. He was Toste’s eighth son and twelfth child, given the name Geirr.

    Then in May, the constant program of pillaging bore more fruit – not just gold. The sack of Portici in Neapolis gave rise to Toste being regarded as a ‘Sea King’ among the Viking people.

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    It was only a few days later that Sigrid’s abilities would be tested. Toste’s second eldest son Sturla fell gravely ill from pneumonia and, although it was deemed a mild version of the condition, his prospects were very uncertain.

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    As it happened, Sigrid’s herbal treatment proved to be excellent, earning Sturla continued life and Sigrid the reputation as a renowned physician. A good person to have available with so much disease around in a dangerous world.

    Another change to the Council was forced in July with the murder of Spymaster Jarl Hroðulfr of Vladimir by a courtier – who remained a supporter of Toste himself and against whom apparently no case to arrest him legally could be made!

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    While a replacement was named, Toste rewarded his concubine Ulfhildr with an appointment as a shieldmaiden: a grand tradition in the Rurikid dynasty. She eagerly awaited an opportunity to test herself in combat.

    Which came just a few months later when siege specialist Sörkver, a distant Rurikid family member, inherited a barony and could no longer continue as a commander for Toste. Ulfhildr took his place, joining the raiding army of Asclettin in Italy in late October 1168.

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    The year ended with Toste moving to take advantage of his strong position on the Imperial Council to initiate another clawback of Council power – on war declarations.

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    Toste’s son and heir Ottarr was approaching 12 years old. He was still considered rather puny and was now a brooding but also wilful and affectionate child. And, as he had inherited that barony of Kostroma some time ago, was his own tutor and Toste had only limited betrothal options for him, so had made none so far.

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