The Broken Gates

[TheButterflyComposer]

the many disparate peoples of Ireland were united under the rule of Murchad mac Diarmait

Different man, but also called Ged. I'm sure this will end well...

The fledgling Kingdom seemed to be on the cusp of a glorious first age... But this is not a story about great beginnings.

Ireland is pretty powerful and stable once established so I'm not sure how it managed to bugger this up, but we'll see.

Chosenpai: So, a whole race of magical people living in secret, but the secret is also out at the same time?

More like they live in their own reality and don't really care about the human world, except when they do. Capricious demi gods is round about what I'd say you should be thinking as a starting point.

British Isles

*cough* Atlantic archipelago in this story. Soon to be the Irish Isles.

At the time of this story, England is in a state of civil war as a new ruling dynasty faces internal challenges caused by the Norman Conquest.

Common in CK3. England struggles in 1066 to find a ruler win the invasion war outright, which means when one side does win, they have no money ot manpower, so nobles immediately rebel.

Large cities and towns

For the sake of context, 'large' in Ireland of this period is quite a bit smaller than even across the sea in England and Scotland. Extensive permenant agriculture is only a few centuries old in the country.

Ireland is divided internally among five “Petty Kingdoms,” (alternatively referred to as "Duchies") each of whom is nominally subordinate to the High King of Ireland.

Much like everywhere in CK3 Europe except for the Byzantine empire, everyone starts off with OTL early feudalism style governance whether they are tribal or 'feudal'...the state might exist on the map but its mostly overlords who are slightly stronger than their vassals.

While Irish mythology suggests a long unbroken line of High Kings throughout history

Whether or not there were high Kings at all remains disputed, in a similar vein to whether the heptarchy in what would become England had a concept of 'high kings' beyond whichever of the seven petty kingdoms was more powerful than the others.

The High King’s authority is weaker outside the borders of his own Petty Kingdom of Meath, but his dominion is maintained by a series of strategic alliances and Vassal Contracts with the Petty Kings.

As above. Pretty standard early feudalism. Everyone is a petty king under a slightly stronger (or not) petty 'king', rather than a larger monarchy relatively set above their vassals.

While the Norse invasion has not been repulsed, the High King has been able to stop the enemy from gaining a long-term foothold in his realm. Enemy forces have resorted to living off the land without access to castles or towns.

Ireland is particularly well suited to hunter gathering and also has one nurse settlement - Dublin, which was essentially the first medieval settlement in Ireland, before which iron age hill forts and settlements were the norm where they existed. Tara, the mythological capital of Ireland, was such a Fort.

Dublin remains an outlier in Ireland to this day to be honest.

Ireland is home to just under 700,000 people.

With a unified, stable and peaceful Ireland, probably a bit more than this tbh.

While the vast majority of these people belong to the Gaelic culture,

Irish culture is remarkably resilient and united post Christian conversion. There were so many monasteries and writers that spread across the island, and beyond around the western Isles of Scotland and onto iona, lindisfarne, east anglia etc that there's quite a lot of stuff on the Irish.

The population being mostly along one coastline also helped keep it stable and shared.

there is a substantial population of Norse in and around the city of Dublin, a stark reminder of previous invasions.

Given the noise ability to adapt and the Irish Dominating the city and surrounding countryside, they should merge with Irish fairly quickly, leaving behind words and concepts. In game, it is very easy to remove the norse from Dublin and indeed, convert most of Europe to Irish if you try.

Furthermore, the Sidhe are scattered throughout the island in far fewer numbers, possibly as low as 60,000.

Whilst the fay are always relatively few in number, their actual population is sort of a question poorly asked because they barely are physical beings. They are relatively rare to come across, but when you do come across them, there are many.

Over time, elements of local belief systems and Celtic traditions were infused with Catholicism, creating a local variation of Christianity sometimes referred to as Celtic Christianity or Insular Catholicism.

This is basically a CK3 invention. Irish Catholicism is sufficently widespread and influential in this period (and for that matter, entwined with Anglo-Saxon Catholicism, which was also very influential) that either most of the brirish Isles are insular Christian, as are the successor realms of charlemagnes empire, or none of it is.

I think it was an attempt to demonstrate that the culture, rather than the religion, was distinctly pagan even after conversion, and also to paradoxes credit, North of the English channel the supposedly Christian peoples were rather into polygamy, pagan ritual and ignoring continental Church condemnation.

It also specifically notes how monastic Irish christianty was, which is true, and one of the reasons why Irish monks were everywhere from pictland to Cornwall, and even Iceland before the norse showed up.

The High King and his vassals will usually include a representative of the Vatican on their personal councils.

To be honest, far more likely they have whatever monasteries they have in the area as reps, because they are far more important.

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

It goes quite quickly.

Political Geography:

Ulster

De-facto strongest duchy in Ireland due to three earldoms and a lot of land slots to improve. Also has a holy site and Dominating postion in regards to both Ireland and Scotland.

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

Now that could be interesting later on...

• Diplomacy: 5
• Martial: 3
• Steward: 9
• Intrigue: 11
• Learning: 11
• Prowess: 9

Meh. A bit of a nothing ruler but potential to grow or at least live a long time if learning and medicine is taken.

 

[Macavity116]

<=== Previous (Chapter 6: Ride of the Valkyries)

Was erwartest Du?​

Chapter 7
Power Overwhelming

​

A distant voice declared:

“Repent! The end is nigh!”

Aisling slowly regained her senses. She had transformed into a small mouse and was hiding under a mass of bodies. Above her, she could hear voices and footfalls. The battle was over, but some kind of chaos was still taking place.

She pushed herself forward, emerging from the shadows, and looked around.

The northern wall of Ulster Castle looked as though a giant had grabbed it and carried it away. The earth was gouged and smoke rose from the blackened crater. Dozens, possibly hundreds of blue-and-gold warriors were milling around the area, picking through the wreckage and bodies.

Several of the blue-skinned people wore strange boxes on their arms. These boxes made loud whistling sounds and glowed with a purple light. For some reason, Aisling found these devices very unnerving. She scrambled away from the scene.

Nearly all of the Irish defenders, including Dermot and his Regency Council, had fled the scene. Aisling could see a flurry of activity through the narrow windows of the Keep, suggesting that Dermot and his people had barricaded themselves inside.

Seven Irish soldiers remained on the scene, having fallen to their knees in desperate prayer, pleading for God to show mercy. One of the flying metal monsters had landed inside the castle grounds, and dozens of additional blue-skinned warriors emerged from its gaping mouth.

As she tried to flee, several of the blue-and-gold warriors pointed their purple lights at her. Aisling felt her blood run cold. These strange people seemed to know about her.

Aisling started trying to escape again, and this time, two of the blue-skinned people lunged, trying to seize her. Aisling quickly transformed into a sparrow and took flight, zipping across the castle grounds and into the Keep.

Inside, the few Irish soldiers that remained had barricaded themselves behind a layer of siege defenses. Aisling fluttered past a wall of spears and pikes before reaching a serious roadblock.

The doorway to the Great Hall had been barricaded from the inside. Only a few people were in the corridor, clutching at religious icons and praying for salvation. The terrified castle defenders were so wrapped up in their prayer that none of them noticed Aisling land and turn into a Human. She wrapped her knuckles on the large door.

“Dermot?” She asked.

“Who goes there!?” An Irish voice shouted through the door. “Are you friend or foe?”

“I’m a friend of Duke Dermot. My name is Aisling!” She called back through the door.

There was a scrambling sound, and a moment later, the door opened, just wide enough for Aisling to see a person’s eye through it. Dermot’s voice issued through it.

“Aisling!” Dermot hissed. “I beg of you, please help us!”

“How?” She asked. “There’s a hundred of those blue people outside.”

“My cousin’s husband, Duke Caradog, is on his way here with an army to save us.” Dermot said through the door. “If you can get away without being caught by those blue creatures, then go southwest to the Earldom of Mayo. Find Duke Caradog and tell him all of what’s happened here. Beg him to come with all possible speed, please! I don’t know how long we can hold out against these enemies.”

“I am a stranger to Duke Caradog.” Aisling replied. “How will I make him believe me?”

“Go to my bedchambers.” Dermot whispered to her through the door. “I keep my treasures in a box underneath the window. Take one of them and carry it with you. The Duke Caradog knows about them all, as his wife is my cousin, and we’ve known each other since I was very small. Give him one of those treasures and say it is my token.”

Aisling promised to deliver Dermot’s message. She considered this to be her way of repaying Dermot for his offer of protection these past few days.

---

Scrambling up the stairs, Aisling could hear the blue-and-gold warriors outside. They were yelling to one another. Were they going to storm the Keep? Aisling realized she was starting to feel fear, not just for Dermot, but for herself as well.

The blue people had spotted her while she was shaped like an animal. They had tried to grab her. For the first time, Aisling wondered if the blue-skinned people were related to the Milesius. She was not old enough to have seen them herself, but Aisling had heard plenty about the invaders who drove her own people into hiding.

Aisling ran up the nearest flight of stairs, retracing the path to Dermot’s bedchamber as best she could. She thought back to when Dermot had given her a tour just one short month ago. After straining her mind, Aisling remembered the way and found the lord’s bedchamber.

Aisling looked around Dermot’s room for a moment, then spotted a well-decorated chest underneath a window that overlooked the Irish Sea.

Fumbling with the latches, she opened the chest and looked inside. She found three of Dermot’s personal treasures.

Aisling blinked, trying to sweep away the feeling of Déjà vu.

Fumbling with the latches, she opened the chest and looked inside. She found four of Dermot’s personal treasures.

Aisling examined each item in turn: terracotta toy fowl, a guidebook for religious pilgrims, a tiny wooden stature of a warrior... and a perfectly round shimmering silver sphere.

The glimmering orb captured Aisling’s attention. It seemed to be impossible, made of liquid, yet somehow keeping its perfectly round shape. Aisling could see herself reflected in the orb as though it was a mirror. It was a small thing, about the size of her own clenched fist.

Aisling decided to grab it. She had no doubt a beautiful sphere like this would be easily recognized. She reached out and grabbed the sphere. To her surprise, Aisling’s fingers sank through the sphere’s outer membrane. It felt as though she had dipped her hand into cold water.

For a fraction of a moment, Aisling was aware of her fingertip slipping through the inner membrane and touching the innermost core of the silver sphere.

<=== Previous (Chapter 6: Ride of the Valkyries)

Was erwartest Du?​

 

[CBR JGWRR]

So it begins.

 

[Historywhiz]

The blue people had spotted her while she was shaped like an animal. They had tried to grab her. For the first time, Aisling wondered if the blue-skinned people were related to the Milesius. She was not old enough to have seen them herself, but Aisling had heard plenty about the invaders who drove her own people into hiding.

Aren’t the Milesius just the ancestors of the present day Irish people like Dermot and the rest?

As an aside, for some time now it’s been a source of wonder and fascination for me how well Irish mythology remembers the invasion/migration of the Celts to the island, in addition to earlier such monuments like that of the Bell Beaker peoples.

 

[Chac1]

Great to see the AAR start its evolution. Didn't expect it here, but that's what is so good about this action-packed beginning, it has lots of surprises.

All that said, apologies are in order. I will have to vow to set a restriction on comments after a certain hour. My last set of comments was not based upon careful reading or good memory of that reading. Certainly, they were worse than any coming from a jet-lagged Chosenpai. (I may have to consider resigning my delta-grade title.)

Clutching the weapon in her right hand, Avita reached down with her free hand and unholstered her pistol. She fired directly into the metal shield, puncturing it and forcing the armored footman to fall back.

Avita's gunshot passed directly through the enemy shield and hit the poor soul on the other side. I just didn't feel the need to clarify his fate beyond the fact that his assault was stopped.

It's clear you had written about a metal shield, and I missed that. (The debate about whether those shields would have been present is another issue.)

Thanks also for the explanation of Avita's weaponry. However, even in my addled state, this reader understood the firepower deployed.

Of note, now that @Historywhiz and the Dark Lord Kelebek ( @TheButterflyComposer ) are active in the comments here, I will definitely have to mind my manners. Crazy ahistorical comments from me will have to be reduced or eliminated for my own well-being (and that's probably better off for the community in general).

(Nothing like a Sunday for apologies and repentance.)

Fumbling with the latches, she opened the chest and looked inside. She found three of Dermot’s personal treasures.

Aisling blinked, trying to sweep away the feeling of Déjà vu.

Fumbling with the latches, she opened the chest and looked inside. She found four of Dermot’s personal treasures.

Guessing this glitchy redundancy was intentional as the Broken Gates takes control of the AAR. Perhaps this is the literal point where everything changes even before Aisling picks up the orb.

All that said... looking forward to what the future brings here....

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"*character name* blinked, trying to sweep away the feeling of Déjà vu." is a staple phrase of Year Of Hell, when the Vultaum Reality Perforator gets used to do some tweaking.

Which means that Aisling is going to be one of the ones who know about The Great Lie. Which could be quite interesting.

 

[Massinissa the Wise]

"*character name* blinked, trying to sweep away the feeling of Déjà vu." is a staple phrase of Year Of Hell, when the Vultaum Reality Perforator gets used to do some tweaking.

Which means that Aisling is going to be one of the ones who know about The Great Lie. Which could be quite interesting.

Thanks for the explanation.

The sentence reminded me of some Mind Control tricks that Akira Robinson pulled in Faith in Chaos. Is this also a form of intentional interference? Or did reality reset itself?

 

[Midnite Duke]

What happened to the Emerald Isle and how did I break a gate? Please remind me to remove all figments of greenery from @Macavity116's brownies. Thanks for updating, I think.

 

[The Kingmaker]

...And I'm starting to get a little lost. So the future-folk (tm) have decided to attack the Irish too now? After blowing the Norse to kingdom come?

...And Aisling has interfaced with a Borg artifact that was somehow in Dermot's possession and is being assimilated? When does this Mega-campaign switch over to Star Trek: Infinite?

...And the AAR title has changed due to... reasons?

I definitely sense the presence of the Old Gods, as I can feel sanity already starting to warp and twist...

 

[CBR JGWRR]

Asiling has been out of it for a little while, so it's not clear what is going on as we've got an incomplete picture. It's also not a Borg artefact, but more like accessing the game's console; Stellaris has these "Precursors" who existed arbitraily high amounts of time prior to the present day, and the Vultaum are one of them, and among the possible outcomes of their event chain is the recovery of the Reality Perforator, which is the item Aisling picked up.

 

[Chac1]

Not sure many of us can be a help to you @The Kingmaker as this is a sequel and here's where it integrates into the preceding work. My advice is hold on tight. Maybe @Macavity116 will have more explanations post-eclipse? Until then @CBR JGWRR has some helpful and excellent answers.

..And I'm starting to get a little lost. So the future-folk (tm) have decided to attack the Irish too now? After blowing the Norse to kingdom come?

Actually, in the preface, the Olinbari (the future folk) destroy a column of Irish as they enter the reality of the story. We'll see what will happen to their plans for world domination (oops, I meant to say "uplift").

I definitely sense the presence of the Old Gods, as I can feel sanity already starting to warp and twist...

Oh, I wish it were so... questioning your sanity just a bit is natural in a @Macavity116 story and I think he wants it that way. The plans he's been hinting about should be a real test. Anxious to see what he has in his box of tricks.

 

[jak7139]

Fumbling with the latches, she opened the chest and looked inside. She found three of Dermot’s personal treasures.

Aisling blinked, trying to sweep away the feeling of Déjà vu.

Fumbling with the latches, she opened the chest and looked inside. She found four of Dermot’s personal treasures.

Hmmm. Intriguing. Don't know much about Stellaris' lore, but I'll try and keep my head above the waves.

Also, I get the title now "Broken Gates". The MSI destroyed the gates of the castle. Maybe there are other gates that will be destroyed too?

 

[Midnite Duke]

Does any life form/MSI customer eat humans? Could the blue boys plan on harvesting humans for food? MSI will do anything for a pouch of gold (or equivalent).

 

[The Kingmaker]

Asiling has been out of it for a little while, so it's not clear what is going on as we've got an incomplete picture. It's also not a Borg artefact, but more like accessing the game's console; Stellaris has these "Precursors" who existed arbitraily high amounts of time prior to the present day, and the Vultaum are one of them, and among the possible outcomes of their event chain is the recovery of the Reality Perforator, which is the item Aisling picked up.

Yep, I know it’s not from the Borg. My comments are often intended to be tongue-in-cheek.

 

[The Kingmaker]

Does any life form/MSI customer eat humans? Could the blue boys plan on harvesting humans for food? MSI will do anything for a pouch of gold (or equivalent).

Soylent Green is (Irish) People?!

 

[Macavity116]

Oh my gosh!

I was planning to respond to comments after tomorrow's eclipse but you've all made it clear that waiting that long might not be the best idea. Greetings from the road!

Aren’t the Milesius just the ancestors of the present day Irish people like Dermot and the rest?

They were strongly implied to be so in this story, yes.

Great to see the AAR start its evolution. Didn't expect it here, but that's what is so good about this action-packed beginning, it has lots of surprises.

I wouldn't say evolution so much as "takeover."

Guessing this glitchy redundancy was intentional as the Broken Gates takes control of the AAR. Perhaps this is the literal point where everything changes even before Aisling picks up the orb.

You've actually gotten that part right, and I think @CBR JGWRR did too. Just before everything broke, someone opened up the dev console and changed the game. Double-check the paragraphs before and after the warning sign to see what happened.

Hint: how many treasures does Dermot own?

"*character name* blinked, trying to sweep away the feeling of Déjà vu." is a staple phrase of Year Of Hell, when the Vultaum Reality Perforator gets used to do some tweaking.

Which means that Aisling is going to be one of the ones who know about The Great Lie. Which could be quite interesting.

Correct. Aisling was hit by a console command seconds before the game crashed.

The sentence reminded me of some Mind Control tricks that Akira Robinson pulled in Faith in Chaos. Is this also a form of intentional interference? Or did reality reset itself?

Oh, that's a deep cut to past stories. Reality did not so much "reset" as it did "break entirely."

Please remind me to remove all figments of greenery from @Macavity116's brownies.

Too late, my friend.

...And the AAR title has changed due to... reasons?

My friend, this is what I warned you about. That anvil I was planning to drop on this story... it has now been dropped. A highly dangerous item from the game Stellaris has found its way into a Crusader Kings story, a device that could, if used improperly, make the user fully aware of their existence as a video game character.

My advice is hold on tight.

The strongest advice in the room right now. The rollercoaster has reached the top of the tower. Chaos is about to be unleashed.

Maybe @Macavity116 will have more explanations post-eclipse?

That was the plan, and the sheer volume of comments this afternoon scuttled it. New chapter on either Tuesday or Wednesday, folks! (work schedule permitting)

Don't know much about Stellaris' lore, but I'll try and keep my head above the waves.

There is just one key thing you need to know about: Aisling touched an object from Stellaris lore called "the Reality Perforator." As mentioned above: it can, if misused, make the user fully aware of the reality of their existence in my computer.

And I assure you: Someone is using it very improperly right now.

Maybe there are other gates that will be destroyed too?

Not too far off, this guess.

Soylent Green is (Irish) People?!

Well, if you were to go by one of my older Stellaris stories, The Stormbreakers, then Soylent Green is the name of an Australian soldier with a well-established reputation as a womanizer and a godawful cook.

 

[TheButterflyComposer]

The one that really threw me for a loop was the sudden relocation of Norway's capital to... well, just look at the picture:

Makes sense really. The nature of tribal ruling is the warlord has his power wherever his land is. And to be honest, the Faroe islands are as viable for farming and settlement as the rest of Norway...that is to say, fairly difficult for the tech the norse have. Given we're still in the viking age (just about), having a Raiding capital in easy reach of Iceland, the british Isles and Norway all makes sense.

The King of Scotland is a 10-year-old boy and his Regent is the ruler of a tiny little nobody county in Finland. A tiny scandanavian town rules all of Scotland.

A little stranger, but such things happen. The weird thing is him being from Finland, which is not really viking and so not sure how they got to Scotland. A second son journeying westwards to Norway and then further still to make their fortune, doing rather well and getting a loyal band of men plus fighting experience makes some sense. Then unexpectedly inherits but they're already established in Scotland. Technically holds lands back home but he's never going back etc.

What the heck is going on in this game!?

Looks pretty sensible actually. Norway is still exporting vikings so are actively trying to get some lands back in GB. They manage to get somewhere in northern Scotland (technically part of the kingdom of Scots but the Highlands are their own realm essentially until the early modern period at earliest).

Denmark is taking Sweden apart and is the other big norse kingdom. Also makes sense.

Only bit that makes little sense (and this is purely game) is the HRE being united enough to be a solid block. Even in game, its not nearly so simple, and as for OTL, it's in a mess it won't get out of for another century.

 

[Macavity116]

You and I have just been posting simultaneously all day on this thread! I actually spotted you this time, though.

A little stranger, but such things happen. The weird thing is him being from Finland, which is not really viking and so not sure how they got to Scotland. A second son journeying westwards to Norway and then further still to make their fortune, doing rather well and getting a loyal band of men plus fighting experience makes some sense. Then unexpectedly inherits but they're already established in Scotland.

It's an absolute mystery. PDX throws all sorts of strange and bizarre curveballs in Stellaris, but the stuff that happens in CK3 is so far out of left field that I'm just left stunned most of the time.

 

[TheButterflyComposer]

You forgot to mention what language Ylva speaks. I know the Olinbar guys are going to have a Universal Translator, but Aisling might not be able to communicate with her.

Old norse. Unless she speaks Irish, and she might given she's from Iceland. Depends where her family came from before then, and if the Irish monks are still there as slaves or something...

I'm surprised Bishop Rechtabra hasn't come out screaming 'witchcraft

Witchcraft isn't a thing for quite a few periods of Christianty. After all, magic does not exist and all power comes from God. Anything else is pagan heresy or ignorant villagers screaming about random shadows in the woods.

Could call them demons I suppose. They look like them, they use a lot of demonic imagery and it will become fairly apparent that rhey don't believe in God soon enough. But we'll see...

 

[TheButterflyComposer]

And yes, another irreverent observation. Vikings didn't use metal shields.

They were familiar with the concept, enough for them to show up in Beorwulf and be compared with wooden shields (they think the former are better than the latter when fighting dragons).

“Repent! The end is nigh!”

Mmhm. One of the phrases that actually would be dangerous to say in medieval Europe. Actively telling people the end times are upon us was one of those things everyone, from the church to the local Lords to the monarchs and all in between really, really didn't like.

In this case, it makes more sense than usual to say, but anyone caught saying that on, say, the continent rather than in Ireland would be in trouble.

make the user fully aware of their existence as a video game character.

That is what happened to Ged at the end of his Nightmare. Sort of ended up ambigiously alright for him but I wouldn't call what the Irish did after the fact a good result.

It's an absolute mystery. PDX throws all sorts of strange and bizarre curveballs in Stellaris, but the stuff that happens in CK3 is so far out of left field that I'm just left stunned most of the time.

It's nothing close to CK2 yet but GEN was basically me telling the tutorial of CK3 straight, and it was rather weird, esepcially if the reader has never played CK before.

CK2 on the other hand can be a very good medieval simulator...and also if you switch various settings, rules and DLC on, the most outlandish shit imaginable. Secret the Great Bear Spy comes to mind.

CK3 has not seen much in the way of truly insane things happen yet but I have spoken before of Alfred the Grest fighting ghost crocodiles in the Thames and losing an eye.