Part 2: A Bitter Feud
In 902, Jarl Arnoddr Magnusson inherited his father's vast lands. Much like Jarl Magnus, Arnoddr possessed none of the talent for warfare so highly prized amongst his culture. Despite having served in a few of his father's battles, Arnoddr was never much of a soldier, nor a commander. Besides his father's good-naturedness, it appeared that Arnoddr had inherited exactly none of his father's good qualities. To make matters worse, Arnoddr appears to have been highly depressed following the death of both his wife and father in so short an amount of time-- with numerous accounts saying he never found the bottom of a bottle for the entire duration of his rule.
Introverted, lacking ambition, and possessing a rather inconvenient habit of honesty, it seemed upon his ascension that the already aging Jarl might be set to undue all that his father and Hrolfr had built. Arnoddr's first blunder was to refuse to remarry, claiming that he would grieve for his departed wife all his life. It was a promise he was to keep.
Shortly into his rule, Arnodrr's brother Farbiorn appeared at Praendalog most unexpectedly. Arnodrr's only surviving sibling was a mountain of a man, possessing every quality that Arnoddr lacked. An expert soldier and a sound commander, he had served Hrolfr Northman as a chief lieutenant. There were many whispers that it was he who should have been made Jarl, not Magnus' craven firstborn. Whether or not Fabiorn had any interest in ruling was besides the point entirely.
Farbiorn came with the shocking news that his wife was dead. An unfortunate accident had befallen her, Farbiorn hastly claimed. When Arnoddr insantly launched into a foray of intense questioning, Fabiorn angrily dismissed them. "She fell." Farbiorn was a man famously of few words, but quick to anger. No doubt Arnodrr feared his brother's wrath if he was to be pressed further.
Farbiorn delivers the news of his wife's death.
This was disastrous news. Farbiorn's wife was sister to the King of Sweden. It was common knowledge that her and Farbiorn's marriage was an unhappy one, and childless to boot. She had mothered two bastards prior to their marriage, so many rumors abounded that Farbiorn was impotent. Perhaps Farbiorn killed in her in one of his fits of rage, or maybe he had done away with her in order to remarry. Regardless, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that her death was no accident.
Arnoddr's father Magnus had spent decades building a positive relationship with his powerful neighbor to the East, and now the fragile peace that had come to be between the two powers was at a crisis point. When news reached Sweden, the King was inconsolable. He knew too that this was no accident. He demanded Farbiorn's head. Conflict averse as he was, this was a concession that Arnoddr could not give.
King Porolfr demands Farbiorn's death in retribution for his sister's murder.
Arnoddr refused the King of Sweden. He would not allow his last sibling to be killed, regardless of his crimes. The bloodshed that would follow would forever be a stain on Arnoddr's legacy.
In 904, Arnoddr's young daughter Mioll was brutally murdered by agents of King Porolfr whilst she was returning Praedenlog from a visit to the nearby market. The normally even tempered and soft-spoken Arnoddr was said to have nearly killed a courtier in his rage. Farbiorn was instantly at his brother's side, calling for a war of vengeance against the King. Arnodrr obliged him.
The Murder of Mioll
With Farbiorn at its head, the Norse army crossed over into Sweden, intent on the death of the Swedish King. The war dragged on for 3 long years with numerous small engagements all proving indecisive. Surprisingly, the end of the war would come when King Porolfr was himself murdered. The identity of his killer is unknown, but most now agree that it must have been someone within the Raumsdalr family.
With the death of the King, the war was over. Succeeding Porolfr was his Uncle Fridgeirr.
King Fridgeirr was a compassionate, just man, who felt that the feud between the two houses had reached an appropriate end. Arnoddr concurred. The two settled their differences in 911. The feud between the two families seemed to be ended, much to Farbiorn's discontentment. Roaring that Porolfr's death was not enough to make peace, Farbiorn sent agents against Arnoddr's will to murder Fridgeirr. They were successful, and thus another King of Sweden was slain. The new king, Adalbriktr, Porolfr's brother, wanted to immediately attack, but his counselors urged caution. While he reigned for a few years in relative peace, it was not long before he drunkenly challenged Farbiorn to a duel to the death. Farbiorn easily slew the drunken King, and Sweden saw its fifth king in twenty years.
The new king, Askr, King Porolfr's only son, was a temperate, patient man, and did not see wisdom in pursuing the feud any further. He and Arnoddr met and made peace in 919, with Farbiorn's bloodlest apparently sated.
With the conclusion of the feud, the rest of Arnoddr's reign was rather uneventful. To the North, his son, Magnus, fought and won numerous wars against the Sami. Arnoddr's son was proving to be quite the military commander.
Tragically, after conquering vast swaths of Sami land, Magnus would die after a small wound he took festered in 924.
After nearly 23 years of brutal murder, the tragic passings of numerous family members, and the vicious barbarism of his brother, the death of his brave son was more than Arnoddr could take. He drowned himself in his cups, this time to never reemerge. He died the following year.
His grandson, Arnoddr the younger, was now to be Jarl. Could the misfortune that plagued his grandfather's reign be avoided by the young man? Could he finish the Sami conquests that his father started? Would his relationship with Sweden be as rocky as his predecessors? Would his grand-uncle Farbiorn wreak havoc on the realm once again? Only time could tell.
Arnoddr's reign will always be marked by the hostilities that commenced via his brother's murder of his Swedish wife. The following feud saw the death of no less than three kings of Sweden. Arnoddr is no doubt remembered as a weak-willed spineless Jarl-- bullied by his brutish, bloodthirsty brother. But while Farbiorn spent the entirety of the reign pursuing his personal vendetta against the af Munso's, Arnoddr's son carved out a mighty slice of the Sami North--the foundations of which might lay a new kingdom...
A shame no doubt that Magnus himself would not live to see it.
Praendalog upon the sucession:
House Raumsdalr:
In 902, Jarl Arnoddr Magnusson inherited his father's vast lands. Much like Jarl Magnus, Arnoddr possessed none of the talent for warfare so highly prized amongst his culture. Despite having served in a few of his father's battles, Arnoddr was never much of a soldier, nor a commander. Besides his father's good-naturedness, it appeared that Arnoddr had inherited exactly none of his father's good qualities. To make matters worse, Arnoddr appears to have been highly depressed following the death of both his wife and father in so short an amount of time-- with numerous accounts saying he never found the bottom of a bottle for the entire duration of his rule.
Introverted, lacking ambition, and possessing a rather inconvenient habit of honesty, it seemed upon his ascension that the already aging Jarl might be set to undue all that his father and Hrolfr had built. Arnoddr's first blunder was to refuse to remarry, claiming that he would grieve for his departed wife all his life. It was a promise he was to keep.
Shortly into his rule, Arnodrr's brother Farbiorn appeared at Praendalog most unexpectedly. Arnodrr's only surviving sibling was a mountain of a man, possessing every quality that Arnoddr lacked. An expert soldier and a sound commander, he had served Hrolfr Northman as a chief lieutenant. There were many whispers that it was he who should have been made Jarl, not Magnus' craven firstborn. Whether or not Fabiorn had any interest in ruling was besides the point entirely.
Farbiorn came with the shocking news that his wife was dead. An unfortunate accident had befallen her, Farbiorn hastly claimed. When Arnoddr insantly launched into a foray of intense questioning, Fabiorn angrily dismissed them. "She fell." Farbiorn was a man famously of few words, but quick to anger. No doubt Arnodrr feared his brother's wrath if he was to be pressed further.
Farbiorn delivers the news of his wife's death.
This was disastrous news. Farbiorn's wife was sister to the King of Sweden. It was common knowledge that her and Farbiorn's marriage was an unhappy one, and childless to boot. She had mothered two bastards prior to their marriage, so many rumors abounded that Farbiorn was impotent. Perhaps Farbiorn killed in her in one of his fits of rage, or maybe he had done away with her in order to remarry. Regardless, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that her death was no accident.
Arnoddr's father Magnus had spent decades building a positive relationship with his powerful neighbor to the East, and now the fragile peace that had come to be between the two powers was at a crisis point. When news reached Sweden, the King was inconsolable. He knew too that this was no accident. He demanded Farbiorn's head. Conflict averse as he was, this was a concession that Arnoddr could not give.
King Porolfr demands Farbiorn's death in retribution for his sister's murder.
Arnoddr refused the King of Sweden. He would not allow his last sibling to be killed, regardless of his crimes. The bloodshed that would follow would forever be a stain on Arnoddr's legacy.
In 904, Arnoddr's young daughter Mioll was brutally murdered by agents of King Porolfr whilst she was returning Praedenlog from a visit to the nearby market. The normally even tempered and soft-spoken Arnoddr was said to have nearly killed a courtier in his rage. Farbiorn was instantly at his brother's side, calling for a war of vengeance against the King. Arnodrr obliged him.
The Murder of Mioll
With Farbiorn at its head, the Norse army crossed over into Sweden, intent on the death of the Swedish King. The war dragged on for 3 long years with numerous small engagements all proving indecisive. Surprisingly, the end of the war would come when King Porolfr was himself murdered. The identity of his killer is unknown, but most now agree that it must have been someone within the Raumsdalr family.
With the death of the King, the war was over. Succeeding Porolfr was his Uncle Fridgeirr.
King Fridgeirr was a compassionate, just man, who felt that the feud between the two houses had reached an appropriate end. Arnoddr concurred. The two settled their differences in 911. The feud between the two families seemed to be ended, much to Farbiorn's discontentment. Roaring that Porolfr's death was not enough to make peace, Farbiorn sent agents against Arnoddr's will to murder Fridgeirr. They were successful, and thus another King of Sweden was slain. The new king, Adalbriktr, Porolfr's brother, wanted to immediately attack, but his counselors urged caution. While he reigned for a few years in relative peace, it was not long before he drunkenly challenged Farbiorn to a duel to the death. Farbiorn easily slew the drunken King, and Sweden saw its fifth king in twenty years.
The new king, Askr, King Porolfr's only son, was a temperate, patient man, and did not see wisdom in pursuing the feud any further. He and Arnoddr met and made peace in 919, with Farbiorn's bloodlest apparently sated.
With the conclusion of the feud, the rest of Arnoddr's reign was rather uneventful. To the North, his son, Magnus, fought and won numerous wars against the Sami. Arnoddr's son was proving to be quite the military commander.
Tragically, after conquering vast swaths of Sami land, Magnus would die after a small wound he took festered in 924.
After nearly 23 years of brutal murder, the tragic passings of numerous family members, and the vicious barbarism of his brother, the death of his brave son was more than Arnoddr could take. He drowned himself in his cups, this time to never reemerge. He died the following year.
His grandson, Arnoddr the younger, was now to be Jarl. Could the misfortune that plagued his grandfather's reign be avoided by the young man? Could he finish the Sami conquests that his father started? Would his relationship with Sweden be as rocky as his predecessors? Would his grand-uncle Farbiorn wreak havoc on the realm once again? Only time could tell.
Arnoddr's reign will always be marked by the hostilities that commenced via his brother's murder of his Swedish wife. The following feud saw the death of no less than three kings of Sweden. Arnoddr is no doubt remembered as a weak-willed spineless Jarl-- bullied by his brutish, bloodthirsty brother. But while Farbiorn spent the entirety of the reign pursuing his personal vendetta against the af Munso's, Arnoddr's son carved out a mighty slice of the Sami North--the foundations of which might lay a new kingdom...
A shame no doubt that Magnus himself would not live to see it.
Praendalog upon the sucession:
House Raumsdalr:
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