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Thord's Dream
"Skade's eagle eyes
The king's ill luck espies:
Though glancing shields
Hide the green fields,
The king's ill luck she spies.
To bode the doom of this great king,
The flesh of bleeding men I fling
To hairy jaw and hungry maw!
To hairy jaw and hungry maw!"
"Skade's eagle eyes
The king's ill luck espies:
Though glancing shields
Hide the green fields,
The king's ill luck she spies.
To bode the doom of this great king,
The flesh of bleeding men I fling
To hairy jaw and hungry maw!
To hairy jaw and hungry maw!"
Arnor spat over the side of the boat as it rocked to the rising waves. The weather had been picking up over the last three weeks; everyone knew a storm was coming. The rising winds kicked up the debris from the nearby town and sent it floating out across the surf. Its small cathedral was the only building still standing. It was an auspicious sign. The dying flames sent steam up through the frozen mists of the early morning. It was one final reminder to the English that although the Norwegians were leaving them, they weren't cowed. Arnor knew that news of the defeat had already reached Tunsberg and Magnus was gathering what forces remained to insure that the survivors could not be used against him. However, Arnor had more important men to worry about for the time.
The embarrassing task of returning home with but twenty-four of Harald's three hundred longships was going to be made even worse by presence of Olaf Haraldson, the 16 year-old coheir to the throne of Norway. And with Olaf came all the men who had come to England to run the lands Harald captured. Arnor had little respect for these men, servants and sniveling cowards who sought wealth and power through political intrigue. Why Harald had put up with these men still made Arnor question the motives of the dead king for all that he was Norse at heart, Harald was a Greek in soul. Too much time spent with the Romans had forced that. The chief of these administrators was the man currently surveying Arnor’s ship, Lofn,
“This will do.” Erik ‘Galtung’ Eriksson said as he turned to face the irate captain. “Hersir Arnor Surtson, Olaf Haraldson will return to Tunsberg aboard your vessel. The destruction of his own ship by the hands of the English requires him to take command." Harald's ship was to pass to Olaf along with half of Norway, but the English had insured that the ship was not returning home. "It was Harald’s desire to see his son returned to Norway to claim his birth-right, and as your final act of service, you will have the honor of bringing him home.” Arnor cursed under his breathe at the Riddari. Galtung may be a sniveling fool, but he knew that such a proclamation could not be turned down, Arnor would be returning to Magnus’ court in Tunsberg, he would face the public shame of this defeat head on.
“Very well. But know this: I will not remain in Tunsberg any longer than I must, and I will not make another stop to punish some foolish Jarl for refusing to die with Harald. I want to return to Nordmøre as soon as possible.” If Arnor was going to go down, he would at least do so in his own time.
“Olaf Haraldson graciously looks forward to your service. But remember, the safety and protection of Olaf is paramount. Sweyn Ulfsson may seek to intercept out ships and steal Olaf away.” Arnor nodded at that. The Danish king had been none-too-friendly to the Norwegians for years, and with Harald dead and his heirs in disarray the chance to kidnap the heir to Norway, and soon-to-be owner of half the old king’s estate, could be too much to pass up. “Know that you will be rewarded for your services upon our return to Tunsberg.”
With that Erik made his way off the longship. But as he stepped back onto solid ground he turned back to Arnor. “Oh, I forgot to mention. There is one more passenger you will need to bring back with you. Ragnvald Dubsithson, one of Godred Haraldson’s servants, will be returning to Norway to serve in the court of Olaf.” At the mention of Godred, Arnor cursed again. The thought of aiding that man, or any of his ilk, sent Arnor into a rage. But with Erik still present, Arnor could do nothing but graciously accept. With one young pup of a prince, and the servant of that dog Godred on board, the return to Norway was going to be a long one for Arnor Surtson, survivor of the battle of Stamford Bridge.
Arnor's new passengers
~~~
“Caution my lord, a careful approach is the correct one in this matter.” Jarl Skofte Ogmundsson counseled, taking up the mead that Jarl Finn had passed on. “Any attempt to mobilize against Aslak will only drive the hunchback onto his side.”
“Skofte speaks the truth lord.” Orm Eilifsson agreed. He was the oldest of the five men in the room, and certainly the most experienced. Orm had served Kalf Arneson at Stiklestad, and been awarded land for his service against Saint Olaf. But in the 16 years since he had converted to Christianity and sworn his sword and land to the nephew of the man he helped strike down. It made him an invaluable advisor. “We can not risk driving them together, not while your brother has yet to arrive. Although they both lost many men with your father, together they have more than enough strength to divide the Kingdom.”
“So, you suggest we sit docile?” Finn, Jarl of Herjedalen asked incredulously. “I say we strike quickly and definitively. If we could drive Aslak away from the coast, maybe force him to take lodgings with Brynjulf Helgesson. Brynjulf will remain at Aker Farm for the winter, he would be cut off from Thorfinnson’s reinforcements.” Hertogi Paul Thorfinnson, the hunchback Duke of the Orkney isles, had been indecisive with his support over the last month, but his army had come out relatively unscathed after the failed invasion. Although it would take him a time to reach the Norwegian mainland, when he did he could tip the scale. The duke had been none-to-silent in his opposition to Harald's reign. Now with Harald's death, he could make his own bid for power.
“I want to avoid open conflict, especially with Olaf still abroad. If he were to fall into the hands of the Danes..." Magnus knew exactly what would happen if his younger brother was captured. "Can we somehow convince Aslak to move inland, he won't dare raise arms against us if he is cut off."
"We could box him in." Magnus Skorisson Finne had remained silent for most of their meeting, he was the only minor noble present. But Magnus Haraldsson, Prince of Norway, trusted him without question. Harald, Magnus’s father, had sent him to Finne when he was still very young, and the bond they had formed was still strong. “If you move your court for the winter to the north, say, Voss, it would put enough pressure on Aslak to leave his position and move inland. The only man he could turn to is Brynjulf. With Aslak stuck in land, Thorfinnson would not dare to set sail.”
The plan had its merits. Brynjulf was a smart man and, he knew that Magnus was weak. But he was also a coward, and would delay action until the last minute. if Aslak was forced to wait for Brynjulf to make up his mind, Paul Throfinnson would be too far away to help, it sufficiently left Aslak alone. But there was one drawback.
“What of my brother? If he arrives here, what is to keep my enemies from crowning him as heir to Harald’s throne?”
“Harald’s fleet is in no hurry to return. Fears of Danish pirates will keep them from cutting directly across the sea, and with the Normans up in arms they can’t risk following the coast across the Normandy. They will have to take a longer route, maybe going north to the Shetlands before sailing to Borg and then south. It will be a long route, time consuming. And when the weather gets rough along the coast they will be forced to wait. I would not expect to see them until at least the spring.” Magnus Finne responded. “My lord, I can promise you, the throne will be yours.”
The Court of King Magnus
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Arnor, son of Surtr, eh?
The black lord of the fire giants of Muspelheim makes for an auspicious father.
Or at least an auspicious name for a father.
The black lord of the fire giants of Muspelheim makes for an auspicious father.
Or at least an auspicious name for a father.
This interests me... beginning with survivors from the disastrous 1066 invasion, and directly into intrigue...
A very interesting beginning. I feel a little bit like a ship tossed about in a storm - not yet quite sure of my bearings. I am sure that will come in time though.
First let me say thank you everybody. This will be my first attempt back to narrative AARs. My hope is to have one sort of continuing theme through the story: identity. The idea of identity, nationalism and how people come to see their history in relation to their present has become a very large part of my historical interest.
So, the theme will hopefully be Identity. You've already sort of hit on the introduction pretty well. AlexanderPrimus, I know very little about what names were appropriate to use in period, and since every other character in CK is Erik, Harald or Olaf, I'm using what I can find in sagas. But yes, the choice of names for Arnor's father was on purpose.
General_BT: Glad I could interest you The idea of what came after Stamford Bridge was something that interested me when I first played as England in CK, so I am looking forward to developing the post-loss Norway.
stnylan: Reading back over it I see what you mean. I think in the next update I will lay clear a bit better as to what is going on. I sort of flung a lot of names out there at you.
Enewald: Vikings are great, I agree
So, the theme will hopefully be Identity. You've already sort of hit on the introduction pretty well. AlexanderPrimus, I know very little about what names were appropriate to use in period, and since every other character in CK is Erik, Harald or Olaf, I'm using what I can find in sagas. But yes, the choice of names for Arnor's father was on purpose.
General_BT: Glad I could interest you
The idea of what came after Stamford Bridge was something that interested me when I first played as England in CK, so I am looking forward to developing the post-loss Norway.stnylan: Reading back over it I see what you mean. I think in the next update I will lay clear a bit better as to what is going on. I sort of flung a lot of names out there at you.
Enewald: Vikings are great, I agree
Yay, Vikings!
So will this be all-narrative, or with some history-book?
good job so far and good luck,
asd
So will this be all-narrative, or with some history-book?
good job so far and good luck,
asd
Great start,I like the beggining
King of Men will probably like this if he sees,after all he loves Ynglings
King of Men will probably like this if he sees,after all he loves Ynglings
buneres said:I must have jixed this thread, no activity since my last post
Don't worrygood things take time(generally),or maybe he just can't write now
As a postcolonial literary theorist, I have an obsession with identity, nationalism, etc. as well.
Have you read Benedict Anderson's Imagined Communities yet? The guy's a die-hard Marxist, but the older I get and the more I study these things, the more I come to realize, that for me at least, there's a lot to his theory about nations as mythological constructs.
Have you read Benedict Anderson's Imagined Communities yet? The guy's a die-hard Marxist, but the older I get and the more I study these things, the more I come to realize, that for me at least, there's a lot to his theory about nations as mythological constructs.
TheConqueror said:
ne not worried, just bumping so that more folks might see the thread
Hey everyone. I'm just about done with the next update (and will give you all feedback to your awesome replies!). I took a few days to take a vacation in Tidewater, Virginia, thus the lack of post
