Mead and Blood

[Chac1]

Huzzah! Great to see this return! Definitely, Cuthberht is a favorite: a hero who doesn't want to act like a hero but does anyway. Nice to see you assembling the cast of characters. We will see what happens to these plans. And we will see what heroics Offa has in store for us too, no doubt.

P.S.: Any new soundtrack music to accompany this chapter?

 

[The Kingmaker]

@Nikolai: Thank you, my friend! Happy to have made it just under the wire. It's taken me a long time to get this one finished and ready.

@jak7139: Thanks, although I fear that Lord Cuthberht will not be with us much longer. We will have to see how Cœnwulf measures up without his guidance.

@Chac1: Thank you! Hopefully at least some of these characters will manage to survive for another update. It's a dark time in England. As for the soundtrack, I think chapter 4 will be the next one with a new bit of music. Glad you're enjoying it!

 

[El Pip]

I agree Cœnwulf has not made a great first impression, but what inexperienced 15 year old boy does? He's got spirit at least and you've got to assume there are some grizzled veterans amongst the oathmen he'll be travelling with, if he listens to them and remembers the lessons from his father I think he could do well.

Or he could be arrogant and headstrong, ignore all of that and generally cock everything up. But no point being negative all the time, so let us hope for the better outcome.

 

[The Kingmaker]

@El Pip: Very astute. Cœnwulf was actually a real person who had a pretty big impact on Mercia historically. Whether the same will be true in this timeline of course remains to be seen. Thanks for commenting!

 

[Lord Durham]

Just finished reading this. Not sure what's more impressive: the prose, the detailed historical background or the fascinating linguistic breakdown. I've always found this era of England's history both underrepresented and very appealing. Waiting for more Offa and Cynethryth. Kudos on a fine job.

 

[HistoryDude]

It's back!

Cuthberht is great. Will his oath become a massive issue in the story later? It seems like it could be a large barrier to any sort of peace...

Someone's a little eager for battle, though.

 

[The Kingmaker]

@Lord Durham: Thank you very much for your kind words. That’s very gratifying to hear, especially coming from the patriarch of AARland. I hope not to disappoint!

@HistoryDude: That’s the thing about oaths. They were the underpinnings of Anglo-Saxon society, and they were not easily assuaged. That being said, there was more than one way to remit bloodguilt…

 

[Midnite Duke]

Thank you for this wonderful look Anglo-Saxon blood feuds. Since we are five months in and have not reached the beginning of the game which is a century before the earlier standard CK3 bookmark, @El Pip will delight in your pacing. I have not understood 1/100th of the linguistics, but I have delighted in the discussions.

 

[The Kingmaker]

@Midnite Duke: Thanks for reading! Apologies for the slow and intermittent pacing… as noted elsewhere, RL sometimes interferes with my writing. I write when I’m able and I very much appreciate everyone’s patience and support.

Re: the linguistics, I enjoy the opportunity to brush up on it a bit. I still learn something new every time I write another chapter, and I already have a masters degree in this stuff. Glad you’re enjoying it, even if it doesn’t all make sense. I’m hoping my lore posts ultimately become a short primer on Anglo-Saxon language, history, and culture.

 

[Midnite Duke]

@Midnite Duke: Thanks for reading! Apologies for the slow and intermittent pacing… as noted elsewhere, RL sometimes interferes with my writing. I write when I’m able and I very much appreciate everyone’s patience and support.

Re: the linguistics, I enjoy the opportunity to brush up on it a bit. I still learn something new every time I write another chapter, and I already have a masters degree in this stuff. Glad you’re enjoying it, even if it doesn’t all make sense. I’m hoping my lore posts ultimately become a short primer on Anglo-Saxon language, history, and culture.

Your updates can not be slower than mine. I am from rural eastern Virginia where with our accents, our first foreign language is English (at least before television and talking moving pictures).

 

[Rensslaer]

So Cœnwulf is the 15-year-old? Looking forward to how he acquits himself. He started out apprehensive, but affected a bit of confidence later. Hope he will grow into a man through all this. So the girl who survived in the beginning is his cousin, or something? Enjoyed Cuthberht, also!

@Nikolai I have a pet theory that @jak7139 was embarrassed by @coz1's poking fun at others for casting votes in the Q1-2024 AARLand Choice AwAARds for AARs that hadn't been updated in Q1 (Jak voted for this AAR before the recent update) and so he bribed @The Kingmaker to update before the end of Q1, just to show him up! Just kidding!

Great work!

Rensslaer

 

[The Kingmaker]

@Rensslaer: Correct, Cœnwulf is Cuthberht's naïve 15-year-old son. Cuthberht's brother Cyneberht was Cynethryth's father, so she is indeed Cœnwulf's cousin. Cyneswith is Cœnwulf's elder sister, who is more than twice his age. Her daughter is Cynegyth, Cœnwulf's niece, who also happens to be a few years older than he. Additionally, Cœnwulf has two younger brothers, Ceolwulf and Cuthred, who did not feature in chapter 2. I know it's maddening, but that's the Mercian "C" dynasty for you. Admittedly, part of this is conjecture to reconstruct their complete family tree, but it follows their cultural norms pretty closely.

Very funny theory re: the ACAs. I actually didn't realize that @jak7139 voted for this AAR until after I posted my update. (But a bribe would have been nice! I still want to try an authentic Bakewell tart.) However, I did have a goal of posting a new chapter before the end of the quarter, but it proved rather challenging due to some RL stuff. I'm happy I was able to get it posted, but I had originally wanted to have both chapter 2 and chapter 3 up by the end of March. I guess that means there's something to look forward to in April. <shrug>

 

[jak7139]

(Jak voted for this AAR before the recent update)

Very funny theory re: the ACAs.

I edited my ballot to add Mead and Blood, as well as a couple of other things when I learned about this latest update. That's the reason.

 

[The Kingmaker]

@jak7139: Thanks for your support! It means a lot.

 

[Rensslaer]

I edited my ballot to add Mead and Blood, as well as a couple of other things when I learned about this latest update. That's the reason.

Heh sorry - I thought I'd seen it previously. And, having seen it, thought I should add that vote to my ballot, but then I checked and realized there hadn't been an update...

Until there HAD been.

Anyway -- glad we're voting for this magnificent work!

Rensslaer

 

[The Kingmaker]

@Rensslaer: Thanks for your vote of support as well!

 

[Emissary of the Prophets]

Glad to see this chronicle continuing! And was that a reference to cheddar cheese?

 

[The Kingmaker]

@Emissary of the Prophets: Thanks for commenting! As for the cheese... it could be cheddar, albeit that's a West Saxon cheese from Somerset. A lot of popular English cheeses do have their origins in Mercia though. Since it's mild and nutty, it could be an ancestor of modern Red Leicester or White Stilton. It's certainly not Blue Stilton, since that one is quite moldy and pungent. I've never developed a fondness for cheese myself though... I blame my father for keeping his stinky Limburger in the refrigerator during my formative years. "Like the feet of an angel," he used to joke.

 

[Lord Durham]

@Emissary of the Prophets: Thanks for commenting! As for the cheese... it could be cheddar, albeit that's a West Saxon cheese from Somerset. A lot of popular English cheeses do have their origins in Mercia though. Since it's mild and nutty, it could be an ancestor of modern Red Leicester or White Stilton. It's certainly not Blue Stilton, since that one is quite moldy and pungent. I've never developed a fondness for cheese myself though... I blame my father for keeping his stinky Limburger in the refrigerator during my formative years. "Like the feet of an angel," he used to joke.

Cue Monty Python and the classic Cheese Shoppe sketch.

 

[The Kingmaker]

@Lord Durham: That's one's a classic.

"Wensleydale?"
"Yes?"
"Ah, well, I'll have some of that!"
"Oh! I thought you were talking to me, sir. Mr. Wensleydale, that's my name."