Life imitates art imitates life! And the ‘flu too
. Let’s hope all are well on the mend. That’s the spirit. Look at the map and out with the paintbrush. Good to see this story cracking along again.
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. Let’s hope all are well on the mend. 
Life imitates art imitates life! And the ‘flu too
Nothing like a bit of calculated murder to get the blood flowing.
That’s the spirit. Look at the map and out with the paintbrush. Good to see this story cracking along again.
Now at the end of his reign waiting for the AAR to catch up so reader can vote on the next ruler (elective monarchy is so fun). Can safely say that Elfwine certainly made the impact he was looking for.
Well Elfwine seems an entirely well balanced psychopath, I'm not surprised he went far in CK2 with that sort of attitude.
He has to pull back a few times from being a complete monster but yes, in brief, he's pretty damn psychopathic. Unfortunately/fortunately he recognises he needs to have kids and raise them fairly well to keep the glory coming after he dies.
He recognises it, but I think you can guess that this is the one area he doesn't do very well in, or rather it takes a long time and arguably the biggest mistake of his reign before he figured out how to do it properly.
I think I've landed on the interesting twist for the Lancasters after a few false starts. They are either complete psychopaths with a degree of self-awareness (though how much self-control they have is questionable) or perfectly lovely lunatics who do insane things like domesticating polar bears and making deals with dragons and such. As they get more organised as a dynasty, I can see their children's education being setup to find out which side each child falls, and then the elective monarchy system so that they can pick whether they currently need a tyrant or a madman at the wheel.
Given that in this universe medieval lore is played fairly straight (so there are in fact trolls under every bridge, hags in every tree, dragons in every cave and monsters in the woods), both styles of play would be desirable at various points. I look forward to a competent opponent from an AI faction hopefully showing up at some point because then I can portray a normal human going slowly mad from the revelation of the world they are in.
Chapter 22: Lessons with Father
Chapter 22: Lessons with Father
It had taken, from Elfwine’s point of view, an unacceptable amount of time to get his…tendencies in check. Six years of meditation and self-examination to stop him simply killing everyone who irritated him. Still, he was more in control now, and he hadn’t killed that many people. Halton was the only one of any note, fortunately he was not a man many would miss. As things stood, Elfwine was now twenty-two years of age. He was in control of all his faculties. He was soon to be wed, again. He fought down a twitch of melancholy at the thought. All was well within his realm, there was nothing he should be saddened or ashamed of.
“Father! Father!”
Then again…
“You interrupt me, Edward, yet again.” Elfwine did not turn around or open his eyes. He was in the midst of organising his finances for the month. There would be no distraction.
“But Mary-Anne brought me a ship!” A rough carving was thrust in his face.
It was times like these that made the years-long quest for tranquillity insufferably tedious.
“I see.” Elfwine sank deeper into his coldness, letting it frost over his voice and nerves. It was that, or give into the fire…and he had but the one son at present. “You are aware of what was agreed the last time you burst into this chamber.”
Edward shrank back. “Yes, father.”
“Excuse me?”
“Yes, my Lord. I recall exactly.”
Opening his eyes, he pierced his son to the wall with a glare. “Yet here you stand. I am almost inclined to wonder why you dare to presume, even after all this time. Unfortunately, for you, I understand it is really because of your incapableness…and this reminder displeases me.”
“I apologise my Lord. I will except any and all punishments for my foolishness.” The boy was almost completely toneless now. As was to be expected really, for he was reciting a long-worn speech.
Elfwine was silent for a moment, and then stood from his knees. “Well, at least you make a decent whipping post. Hardly desirable but at least useful, to a degree.” He towered over the child. “Who am I, boy?”
“My Lord Duke of Lancaster, Master of these lands and far beyond.”
“Who are our enemies?”
“We have none, for they are all defeated.”
“Whom have we defeated?”
“Owain the Quarreller, Lord of the Western Isles. Tarla, King of the Picts and Scots.”
And what is the wealth of this land?”
“Boundless, for human greed will never be sated.”
“And what is the count of this wealth?”
The boy paused, winched horribly and spoke again. “Our lands draw sixty a year, the cities…seventy. The Church provides a mere score but their support is hardly measured in-”
“The new tribute?”
Edward was silent.
“You don’t know?” Elfwine’s hand dropped down onto Edward’s shoulder.
“…the prior tribute was sixty-five-”
“The prior tribute,” Elfwine interrupted, “was seven months ago. It is now a full ninety a year. It is a blessing for the realm you are not in charge of the treasury.”
“I…I’m sorry Father.”
“Indeed.” Elfwine paused. He sighed. “You are, ostensibly, my heir. This land was built upon the backs of our family and their constant, terrible struggle against far more powerful and numerous enemies than they could manage. It is only in the last ten years that we have finally emerged from the shadow of Mercia. It is less than fifty years since the days of servitude under Offa’s ilk.” He grasped the boy by both shoulders. “We will never submit again. This land needs nothing less than a great revolt against the current order. It needs me to unite it! Rule it. Drag it out of the pits of barbarism and poverty we are surrounded by. This land is filled with monsters, devils, witchcraft and all manner of creatures. All of them desperate to feast upon the bones of men and boys. Only a strong kingdom, with the power of Lancaster and the mind of a great ruler behind it, can keep them at bay. Only this can drive them back into the darkness and there put them down.”
Elfwine pushed off Edward and paced in front of him, warming to his topic. “All this I see, and all this I will do. But it is pointless, worse than pointless, if you cannot take up my banner in my stead. So, you will take your boat, and your boyhood, and you will go to your room and throw both upon the flames as you drive. Theses. Figures. Into. Your. Skull.” Each word subjected Edward to a tap. “I have a realm to build, my son. You…have a father to live up to. To exceed, if possible. Else all of this…is meaningless.”
Edward sniffled; his toy forgotten at his feet.
“Leave me now. It will not be long before my new bride arrives. A new…mother, perhaps. Perhaps that will help you. Perhaps that will help us see…eye to eye. Go now, and remember this lesson.”
The boy bolted, slamming the door behind him.
Elfwine stared after him. It was times like these, he thought, that the monster came to the surface the easiest. He stared into his son’s heart and saw…everything he was not. Kind, careless…but it mattered little. Eventually, with enough hammering, all metal bent into shape. Or broke. But then again, a new wife was coming. Elfwine did not particularly like intercourse, or women for that matter. People in general disgusted him. It was why, he supposed, it was so easy to rule them with detachment. Easier to fight, easier to control. Even easier to feed. Elfwine took pains to ensure as few people as possible starved in Lancaster. A hungry worker is…volatile.
Goodness, he thought. The boy had knocked his thoughts more than expected. All he had to do was sleep with this woman a few times, it was hardly worthy of summoning murderous thoughts.
Then again, he had ordered a few accidents that morning. Necessary, of course. The continuing religious disorder amongst the commoners in Lancaster and Chester had led to a multitude of busybody chaplains and priests wandering around, preaching to the masses. Irritatingly, rival powers had leapt upon the chance to send their own agents into Elfwine’s domain. The chancellors of two paltry earls in Northumbria with delusions on Lancaster itself were going around collecting ‘evidence’ for their masters. Or they were. They were dead now.
Still, it was a reminder that his work was nothing approaching done. Northumbria remained an obstacle, even something of a threat. He had little in the ay of a legacy to give his son that would survive his death, and in any case his son was hardly capable of seizing the reins of power. York would have to be taken. It would give him the prestige to declare himself a king above kings, provide at least the foundations for a greater realm. Whether or not he could take the next steps after that however, the surprisingly difficult task of building a competent dynasty…well, that remained to be seen. His new wife had better survive childbirth, and be good at raising children. Otherwise the Lancaster line was in real danger of being smothered whilst still a small flame.
It was increasingly clear however that Edward would have to buck up, or be replaced.
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Well that was a bit grim. Excellent writing and characterisation, but in the service of a fairly unpleasant ruler who it's hard to want to see succeed. A bit of dark humour, or just a bit of style and panache, would not go amiss.
I suspected this might be the case, but then again, part of the allure of Elfwine as a character is falling for his act and enjoying his machinations and schemes when he's with an audience and then have reality smack you in the face when he's alone with someone far weaker than himself in every way.
Elfwine is a monster, who's still too young and inexperienced to keep his mask up properly. He'll certainly figure out that comedic psychopathy and a flamboyant nature work very well, but Edward hits him right at his core. As he says, he thinks the child is his one vulnerability and most visibility sign of his own flaws and failings. He doesn't need to exercise restraint or play a crowd here, he already is God in this situation, or wishes to be. All his children get a measure of this in varying ways but Edward gets the worst.
I do want to avoid too much grimdark as we've already discussed but it would be quite disingenuous to write a highly charismatic and incredibly violent maniac successfully gaining absolute power over a medieval kingdom without showing at least a few glimpses behind the curtain to demonstrate that you really, really wouldn't want to be in the same room as this guy, let alone be under his control for any length of time. Next chapter has him and secret trying to take Yorkshire though so hopefully a bit more light and fun.
So, we have a true beast in charge. This will be interesting - in a nasty kind of way. It's not an early manifestation of Kelebek, is it?
With exploits like this, it's lucky he already has a nickname: 'the Bear' is a pretty good one, as such things go. With the game's sometime contrariness, it might have called him 'the Real Woke Inner-city Latte-Sipping Snowflake' or something else equally inaccurate or incongruous!
With exploits like this, it's lucky he already has a nickname: 'the Bear' is a pretty good one, as such things go. With the game's sometime contrariness, it might have called him 'the Real Woke Inner-city Latte-Sipping Snowflake' or something else equally inaccurate or incongruous!
So, we have a true beast in charge. This will be interesting - in a nasty kind of way. It's not an early manifestation of Kelebek, is it?
With exploits like this, it's lucky he already has a nickname: 'the Bear' is a pretty good one, as such things go. With the game's sometime contrariness, it might have called him 'the Real Woke Inner-city Latte-Sipping Snowflake' or something else equally inaccurate or incongruous!
I found his former moniker of 'the Dove' darkly hilarious. I suspect there will come a time when his actions face wider criticisms from historians but he's probably safely going to be put in the category of 'yeah, we know they're monsters but...' and still have statues in parliment square and such.
It's an interesting thing, because of course the lancasters themselves are going to know exactly what their founder was...and be in the position where for various reasons they have to honour him publically all the time. I suspect that at some point they'll privately begin denouncing him as whilst an important founder and leader, not something or someone they'd like running their empire again.
Then again if I get the balance between cruelty and humour right, he might have a true heir someday.
All they need to do is get a greatly talented playwright to eulogise him, say in the late sixteenth century.
All they need to do is get a greatly talented playwright to eulogise him, say in the late sixteenth century.
Probably, yes. Given how murder plays and revenge tragedies were the height of popularity in Elizabethan theatre, they may try to make him a loveable axe murderer or something.
Alright, update nearly ready so possibly up tomorrow. Delayed for a long time by Coronavirus, and then by me realising exactly how big the city of York was in the 700s. Elfwine is shooting for the bigger leagues now he's trying to expand outside Wales...
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Chapter 23: The Jewel of the North
Chapter 23: The Jewel of the North
In truth, Elfwine admitted, Britannia had no true cities. To compare London to Rome, let alone Constantinople, was absurd. Chester was even smaller. Lancaster, for all his hopes of future greatness, was little more than a supremely well-built village. There were no great settlements of Men on the island, despite a Roman occupation. The lands of the Anglo-Saxons were divided mostly into farming hamlets, with the odd larger village here and there on a trade road or at the seat of a Lord. The Welsh were even worse, aside from the fairly populated northern coastline now dominated by Lancaster. Outside of the south, where Winchester, London and Canterbury held decently sized denizens, only one place captured the hearts of many.
York.
Surrounded by dense forests and bisected by a mighty river, the Capital of the North stood proud and strong in a desert of civility. Here, Constantine was proclaimed Emperor. Here, Hadrian made his court before driving the Picts back into the highlands. Here, no matter what the southlanders said, was the heart and soul of Christianity in the British Isles. The Archbishop held the ear and loyalty of every priest and monk in Wales, Ireland and Pictland. Alcuin, right hand of Charlemagne, whom codified the Latin alphabet across the Frankish Empire, came from York. The City was mighty for its people, but also its fortifications. More complete than Chester’s own, the Roman walls of brick and stone encircle the place on all sides and have been well-kept since. Wooden palisades and battlements had since been added to further enhance its invincibility.
Elfwine had to steal this jewel, but to do so was generally regarded as impossible. To attack the place at all would be a grievous sin to all good Christians, and the resulting loss of life both for besiegers and the besieged would be horrific. He’d probably have to burn the entire place to the ground and slaughter most of the populace to get in, and even besieging the place would leave a few thousand innocents and their Archbishop trapped within, staring to death.
Yet, Lancaster had to expand. Whilst Elfwine was undisputedly the Overlord of the Welsh, it was unofficial, sustained by force and awe. And that would simply not do in the long term. For Lancaster to survive and thrive, it had to grow to encompass what were now her neighbours. Wales had been brought to heel for now, and could be safely disregarded for another day. Northumbria however, was primed for rebirth through fire. Her star had waned far since the glory days of the previous century. Once she was so powerful that Mercia had to beg aid from the Britons to merely match her might. A mere child ruled now. The petty kingdom was penniless, and had been known to be such for many years. Her last king had seen the rot coming and tried to reverse the decline with a successful invasion into Pictland. It might have worked had he lived to see it through. As it was, the army remained looting their new lands in the north, whilst the impoverished south practically called out to Elfwine to encroach. Indeed, the Archbishop himself had sent a missive to that respect, couched in flowery religious imagery. Truthfully, it was such permission that turned any potential campaign from impossible to simply improbably difficult. This, of course, Elfwine could work with.
He had distracted himself enough. Dawn was fast approaching and with it, his new bride. The wedding would be a relatively modest affair, given that it would be his second, and few dared argue for a lavish ceremony. Besides which, his choice of officiator was unable to arrive (the Archbishop sent his regrets along with that pointed invitation of his own) due to politics, and it seemed Lord Lindsey would not make it either. This was rather concerning, given that Elfwine’s spies had led him to believe of all his children, he loved his only daughter the most. If the Earl was dying or facing trouble at home, the last noble supporter of Lancaster within Mercia would be lost. Elfwine sighed, and offered up a quick prayer to his dearly departed. Then, a little guilty despite himself, gave another pleading for this match to be more fruitful.
“My Lord shall, I think, find more than one use for me. And I for him.”
Those were the first words out of Leofrun’s mouth in private following the wedding.
“We are well met my Lady,” Elfwine replied, “I hope your father finds himself in good health?”
“He finds himself less and less so, more’s the pity. Hence this arrangement was struck before my brothers began eating us both alive.”
“Lindsey has no love for his sons?”
“They have no love for him. For myself, they are in my way, and thus now in yours. Through me, my father bequeaths you his lands, his titles, his estate. His price is my good treatment. Mine is the disposal of those ingrates.”
Elfwine considered her for a moment. “A Lancaster heir for your land. Most definitely a war with Mercia to reclaim it before then. You ask for men, money and time. Are you so worthwhile?”
“I am worth as many children you can put in me and then some. It is not merely my father’s lands I hold sway over. I have hardly been idly cavorting all my life, much unlike the pigs who share my house. I have secrets, contacts, spies within Mercia. Merchants who owe me, soldiers who will die for me. All this I can give you.”
“All that I already have in multitude. You have a better prize within your eyes, I see that. You may be the smartest woman in Mercia but you move in Lancaster now. Do better.”
Her eyes flashed. “I have every respect for your achievements my new husband, and your family’s. You are a born leader, warrior, schemer and crowd-pleaser.”
“But?” Elfwine asked, gesturing for her to be seated as he poured wine.
“That is enough to forge an empire, but not near enough to sustain a realm.” She accepted the cup and gestured to it, “Your family are good merchants, you pay your debts in full and promptly. You can plan and build and fund great projects, wars, armies, even this very hall. But ultimately it is a shell. You can make a palace but cannot run one properly. And it is even harder to run a city.”
“We have made progress, and our wealth is unquestionable.” Elfwine stated firmly. He was interested in what she spoke of, but would not take such talk lying down.
“Yes, but where is your support staff? I entered here today with my retinue, guard, handmaidens, secretary and aides. Our party nearly matches your whole court. Who runs the numbers in this city? Where is the council, where are the trusted men and women who help run your estate?”
She stopped in her tirade and looked at him questionable. Suddenly she asked:
“How much did Lancaster make in revenue last month?”
“Three hundred and two gold in value, most of which consisted of hide, cattle, fish and stone masonry, and several dozen men sworn into service.”
“Such a mind…” she tailed off. “I understand why you might prefer to handle these matters yourself, but simply put: There is no possibility of one man running a household by himself, let alone a village, let alone a kingdom. You must place your trust in others. You must place your trust in me, and a council of your choosing at the very least. Fortunately, I have experience in running my own estates, which includes farms, villages and even a small port. Your holdings are greater still, and your ambition I’m sure is to increase them exponentially, but you cannot do it alone.”
“Great men forge empires, and good men keep them,” Elfwine murmured. Leofrun nodded cautiously. “I find it galling to seem so inept on my wedding night,” he said finally.
She laughed. “Hardly, my lord. Just inexperienced, which is fine by me. Honestly, I was concerned that you would be of a kind that would strike at any mouth that conflicted with a consummate belief in superiority.”
Elfwine narrowed his eyes. “Make no mistake Leofrun, I am extremely displeased at my apparent foolishness, and…irritated at your presumption. Even wary of a foreigner who comes into my hearth and home and attempts to usurp it with her first breath. But,” he held up a hand forestalling her reply, “I am also aware that you could be right, or at least partially correct. Despite my reputation, which I am sure you are aware of, I do listen to advice from time to time. And your fate is, as of today, tied inextricably to my own. I doubt you would betray my confidence, as you seem to enjoy speechcraft, and a woman can hardly perform without lungs in her chest.”
Leofrun stiffened but did not back down from his glare, which raised his opinion of her as much as it frustrated him. This one was, he admitted, a viper in the fields and a cunning fox looking for a meal. Far better to be her mate than her enemy.
“I think,” he said, at last, “that we should be friends. You have within you a mind that I suspect is as sharp as your tongue and all sorts of potential to be unleashed. If you will be a companion to me, I shall endeavour to be one to you, though it goes against my nature. And…I shall fight for your lands, and your right to rule, as you shall with me. Are we agreed, Leofrun?”
“We are agreed, Elfwine.” She smiled at him. “Would you like to attend to chamber business now? Or perhaps I can offer you something more tantalising…”
Elfwine raised an eyebrow, “You have indeed been well-informed about my habits. Please, enlighten me with your offer.”
“Consider it a conditional gift for your promise of security.”
“Oh?” Elfwine’s gaze sharpened.
“Old Offa’s holdings. His personal lands. I have them in my grasp.”
The room was quiet, save for the crackling of the fire in the corner.
“I have claims, documented and signed, forged and actual. I can deliver you Mercia’s heartlands on a platter whenever you so wish…after you have installed me upon my seat.”
The pair stared at each other unblinkingly.
“These papers, presumably kept in trust by an incorruptible abbot?”
“Of course.”
“Hmm.” Elfwine closed his eyes and recalculated his plans for the next few decades. Mercia suddenly opened up before him? He desperately tried not to cackle. He was sure he was at least smirking, despite himself. “This will require some rearranging to my plans but…my goodness, this is quite the opportunity, I must admit. We are soon to be warring with Northumbria for their southern holdings. York cries out for my aid. Following their defeat, I shall march my army south and secure your birth right. Following that…well, I’m sure you might advise me,” he finished dourly, though with a hint of a smile.
“No doubt. That is acceptable to me.” She smiled at his narrowed eyes. “Oh, I realise you are fully capable of doing all that without me but with my help it will be faster. Easier. And certain to come to past. Let us be friends my husband, as we agreed. I will serve this realm far better as a trusted wife and empowered Duchess than a servile wench.”
“I appreciate the sentiment though I am told I am difficult to live with, and I hear more quietly that I am barely less trouble than I’m worth.”
She laughed at that. “I expect I shall manage. As a further present, aside from myself of course, I will gift you my talent. What have you need of? What struggles trouble your mind?”
Elfwine resisted to roll his eyes, barely. He would hardly answer that question honestly to his own sainted father, let alone this bizarre new creature that promised much and yet seemed to him the most dangerous thing he had come across in a long while.
“I have been writing a manuscript,” he said finally. “Your input would be most…appreciated, especially with your apparent talent for logistics.”
There, a simple and fairly honest test, and she would see it as such, if she was worth a damn.
“Lovely, I look forward to it.” She smiled again, more assuredly. Elfwine mentally marked her up a few notches higher in his esteem. And further still when she rather bluntly said, “So, shall you bed me now?”
He decided to grant a little more honesty to their marriage from the beginning. “I’d really rather not, unless your need is so great? Whilst I am fully capable, love is quite beneath my interests.”
If anything, her smile widened. “Oh, my good husband. We shall get on like a house on fire. Still, come to our chambers now. We shall talk further of ourselves, our abilities, our desires and how together we might bring them about. Come.”
She made for the door but turned before reaching it, “If it makes your more comfortable, I shall only bring one dagger into the bedroom tonight.”
Elfwine grinned despite himself. If nothing else, he thought, this was surely the start of something interesting.
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Just wanted to pop in and say that none of the images are showing up on my end Not sure whether it's a general issue or just my computer...
Not sure whether it's a general issue or just my computer...
Just wanted to pop in and say that none of the images are showing up on my end
Seems fine on my computer, pad and phone. Refresh???
Hmm... Neither refreshing the whole page nor attempting to reload individual images does anything. However, if I view the image from the right-click menu, I can see what I assume is a cut-down thumbnail image for each picture.
If no one else is having any problems, it must be something on my end. I'll try out a few ideas.
EDIT: OK, my first hunch was right; something in my Ad-blocker software is blocking one of the scripts that makes the images display from your particular web host. I'll see if I can pin down exactly which one (or group) is the culprit.
EDIT 2: Alright, I don't know which script is doing it exactly, but something in my Smart Blocker is flagging your screenshots (or possibly something in the display url) as having a tracker linked to them.
EDIT 3: Some judicious searching reveals that this may be a false positive; apparently it sometimes flags something as a tracker if it takes too long to load in (by whatever measure it's using).
If no one else is having any problems, it must be something on my end. I'll try out a few ideas.
EDIT: OK, my first hunch was right; something in my Ad-blocker software is blocking one of the scripts that makes the images display from your particular web host. I'll see if I can pin down exactly which one (or group) is the culprit.
EDIT 2: Alright, I don't know which script is doing it exactly, but something in my Smart Blocker is flagging your screenshots (or possibly something in the display url) as having a tracker linked to them.
EDIT 3: Some judicious searching reveals that this may be a false positive; apparently it sometimes flags something as a tracker if it takes too long to load in (by whatever measure it's using).
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An excellent and very welcome return to Lancaster. As poisonously amusing as always.
Ah, the time has come to grab permanently rather than making tributaries. The bloody work will continue with a new focus.
This one is feisty! And a very good potential spymaster, of course.
Oh, how sharper than a serpent's tooth ...
A harsh task-master, as always. Though she rises to the challenge.
While being reminded rather brutishly of the consequences of betrayal. Expecting a boathook to be employed on her liver as well if she ever double-crosses Elfwine.
It does seem so.
Yes, images were fine for me too - I think you must be right about the cause.Just wanted to pop in and say that none of the images are showing up on my end
The new forum system gives the option of dragging files into place or giving a direct URL, as before, but perhaps has changed the mechanics a little. I have never seen fit to change image host in my time on the forums so I assume it is either the forum update or how your browser sees the image link. It may be that you have to whitelist imageshack, photobucket etc so you can see images on the site but for this update there weren't many pictures to see anyway...
Now we have the theme down, my aim with each chapter is to have the reader both impressed in some regard by whatever the Lancasters are doing by chapter end whilst also thanking their lucky stars that they are not in fact ruling over them.
There always comes a time to move away from tributaries if you aren't already a huge empire with internal divisions to sort out (indeed if you start out as Byzantium or francia you will probably never expand outwards except with tributaries. They don't rebel and don't add to your vassal limit and will help out with your civil wars.) and Lancaster certainly isn't a powerful empire. As it stands, Elfwine has three tasks now:
- Secure enough land and prestige to legitimately rank himself above his neighbour (that's to say, bump Lancaster up to kingdom tier).
- Get enough farmland to feed his growing populations (we'll get into this as Leofrun starts stewarding but long story short the north doesn't have a lot of land for agriculture and actually outside of the south of England most people in the British isles get by with foraging and hunting in the 8th and 9th centuries, something that needs to change if Elfwine wants cities in his realm).
- Sort out inheritance and his heirs, because not only is Edward an only child and problematic, but the Saxons don't have a formal inheritance system so he needs to fix that.
Was looking for potential brides and saw that Lord Lindsey had a daughter (good for land and roleplyaing) who was a scheming mastermind, uncouth, sly, cruel and ambitious. What a perfect fit!
Oh, how sharper than a serpent's tooth ...
She had a brutal childhood compared to the Lancasters.
If the Lancaster's didn't exist and weren't semi-mythical beings that tend to warp reality reality around them, she probably would end up the most dangerous person on the island. I'm not kidding about her intrigue, she immediately starting scheming to get both her dad's county back and the rest of the Mercian duchy (which forms roughly half of all the land in Mercia at this time so hardly lacking in ambition either). But the Lancasters do exist and she isn't smart enough to recognise that, at least for the most part.
Anglo-Saxons were pretty fair-minded when it came to women's rights and status. They basically had all the same rights as men, with a few different customs, but could hold land and power in their own right (and so Elfwine naturally doesn't dispute that, and sees it a sense an oppuritnty rather than a threat). Then again, he's Elfwine, and so of course takes pains to remind her who's boss. The equalities of pre-Norman Britian aren't especially well modelled in game, so I may well end up modding the laws to full or near enough full fairly soon.
That's good to hear. I was cautious about leofrun because she runs the risk of becoming Elfwine but female etc. So the idea I say that she's a bit more down to earth, more of a people person and less a grandstanding psychopath. Or out another way, Elfwine builds Lancaster and she will fill it. It also means I can ensure elfwine isn't too OP and absolutely fantastic at everything. It also in-universe means that, when they' do sort out a ruling council and everything, he can spend longer away fighting war strategy and building his kingdom (which is going to have dramatic results compared to when he wasn't trying to do everything himself).
This update was supposed to be more about York and how much of a big deal it was to pre-Norman England (its only going to get moreso for the next two centuries OTL) but the humane elemnt of the new marriage was needed and deserved it's own chapter. Elfwine is going to war soon though, and Secret has to figure out how to take such a difficult city without destroying it or its population.
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Well they seem ideally matched and perfectly horrific. I expect to be mildly disappointed in their doubtless unchallenged and relentless success in future years.
Needs either more bears or a Bret Easton Ellis' monologue to lighten the psychopathology. Or, ideally, both - Secret going full on Bateman about heraldry and coats of arms would improve things immensely.
Needs either more bears or a Bret Easton Ellis' monologue to lighten the psychopathology. Or, ideally, both - Secret going full on Bateman about heraldry and coats of arms would improve things immensely.
You think it's getting a bit too OP?
Mm (barring one certain point in the future), you are mostly correct in that they aren't going to be challenged much by other people. More figuring out how to actually build and manage a big realm where there hasn't been one before. Plus some jockying for position between the two of them. But basically brought her in so we can focus a bit more on the crazy methods by which Elfwine and secret conquer their bit of the world.
The general idea of the AAR originally was seeing if Lancaster can become a viable independent power by itself. If that proved the case, then the AAR could move into stage two which was the Lancasters debating in a council (of readers) what to do next/about whatever current crisis was. So Elfwine serves as a starter King to get us a decent chunk of brittania, at which point his heirs have to figure out what to do with it and what to do next (because, as a bit of a spoiler, Elfwine mostly tributes stuff rather than conquers, so roughly half of his realm is going to be lost upon his death).
If one thing stands out to me about his reign, its shortsightedness. Time and time again he will make the same mistake with vassals and tributaries which is 'what happens next'? He's also either far too harsh or too soft on his kids, which results in some spectacular cockups and the biggest calamity of his reign.
But yes, he does seem rather invincible doesn't he? It's a combination of his viewpoint/my writing
oops, tributary wars being easier than proper wars of conquest and picking weak targets.He can't really monologue given the lack of vocal chords but that might not stop him.
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