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 41. Vápnum ok váðum skulu vinir gleðjask; þat er á sjalfum sýnst; viðrgefendr ok endrgefendr erusk lengst vinir, ef þat bíðr at verða vel. With raiment and arms shall friends gladden each other, so has one proved oneself; for friends last longest, if fate be fair who give and give again. With the Fylkariate having left us for the Wolves of Christianity, the vile Slavs invading our land demanding the release of our faithful in Finland and Prussia. The Fylkir turns his eyes upon the very same people in an effort to while in the chaos and their protector Queen Silje having fangs at her throat. The Fylkir arranges a meeting for the Thingemen to discuss the reformation movement tearing the religion apart in their eyes fully knowing that the Queen can not attend because of the war. The meeting his held in a castle near Ronneby just on the edge of the Scanian heartlands.    However just a few months after the Council of Ronneby reports come from settlements in the deep northern forests that yet another variation on the Norse faith has appeared. It's followers call themselves Sons of Balder or Ragnarokers. They believe the time of Ragnarok has been and the world after is the one we live in and thus the only alive god today is Balder the beloved one.  The Russian Army that had sneaked past the Scanian armies through the mountain ranges to lay siege to the fortress of Trøndelag in order to potentially open up the rest of Sweden and Norway for attack by the Christians. At the very same time as Sir Johann Urne engages the major Russian offensive in Norway, Ranulf af Nornouaille pushes back in Finland to deny the Russians any reinforcements.   The battle in Norway ends in defeat with too heavy casualties on he Scanian side. But Milsariki's commander Gintautas O' Conchobair is quick to engage them again to not give the Russians any rest. But the Russians still prevail.    With that defeat the Irish loses their will to fight as they don't have the manpower depth to keep the fighting going and sign a white peace with the Lithuanian Queen. As this news reach Trelleborg it does seem quite bad for the Kingdom as now they are left with only the Jomsvikings to keep fighting off the Slavic Hordes from invading the southern frontier of the Norse faith. The Jomsvikings themselves have taken too much of a beating and can't be expected to keep themselves in the war for much longer.   The Russian's though have only Fourteen thousand men left and all of them dying to the cold of winter in northern Norway. A deal is struck between Queen Silje and the Grand Kniaginia Vasilisa I of Rus to give the Russian soldiers safe passage home to Russia in exchange the Grand Kniaginia shall end their incursion into Finland and resign from the War.  Skåne is still outnumbered but now the Front suddenly got vastly smaller as the Royal Army just have to hold the choke point of Holstein and Narva to defend it's most important land from invasion. But eventually the Jomsvikings Grand Master caves and signs a white peace with the Christians leaving the Kingdom of Skåne, the bastion of the faith alone against the humongous Polish and Lithuanian Kingdoms.   Lord Ranulf starts on trying to retake the vital fortress of Reval to restore control of the Estonian land and open up the Baltic region for the Royal Army.  Meanwhile now as the home front starts to become more safe but all the fighting, taxation and depletion of manpower in the frontiers of the Kingdom to support and defend them from the Invasion have started to show dissent from the stress this has put on the settlements. To try and stop the Finnish and Swedish people who are vital to the war from starting a new bid for their independence Queen Silje enacts the <name> Decree which allows the Queen to appoint a local Lord-Protector who will be given the power to govern land on-behalf of the Queen becoming the liaison between the Queen and the local rulers of that land. These will have a permanent position at the Høgting together with the elected Nobility to represent those who are not present in Trelleborg.   While Ranulf is laying siege on Reval the Lithuanians try to push past Neva but is caught by the Royal Army controlled by Johann who is coming north to bolster Ranulf's numbers in case the Poles starts pushing north. Johann is about to lose to the Lithuanian main army so Ranulf detaches some of his soldiers from the siege to reinforce him...    ...he arrives just in the nick of time to save the battle from disaster. The losses is still too many for Skåne at this point.   Ranulf sends letter back to Trelleborg that if the Scanians have to engage the enormous Polish Army that is currently moving through Lithuanian Livonia then we will not be able to hold the Christians at bay and the enemy will yet again be free to invade the Finish people. As such Queen Silje engages the King of Poland to come to terms but this time Skåne won't get off as easy and have to surrender land in Prussia to the Poles.    Finally the righteous have the upper-hand and the numbers are more on equal terms now. The Lithuanians amass for another large attack in Estonia. The sound of cannon fire and blood dyed grass has become commonplace in the fields of Narva.    Even though the Lithuanians have more cannons than the Royal Army but the determination of the troops within it's ranks is unmatched in the Western world and as such prevails and only manages to kill more enemies than what it lost as the enemy routs and gets run down. Shortly after the battle of Narva the defenders of Reval finally surrenders as it becomes apparent no relief will come to them.   Herald from the east tells us that the Norse Kingdom of Damascus and the cousin of her Majesty have reformed their government to one where the Queen rules not through her nobles but with the bureaucracy of her court. Also in wake of this war more people than ever have emigrated to the Western lands in hopes to be allowed to live in peace.   With the fortress of Reval under our control Ranulf begins his slow invasion of Livonia but he is soon enough caught of guard and surrounded by 40 000 Sellswords bought by the Lithuanian Queen. Their intent is clear, to destroy the First Royal Army but before all to capture Ranulf The Butcher and end any possibility for Skåne to win this war. Becoming clear with the extreme toll the war has been on the Royal treasury, the manpower of the land and the rising amount of dissent all over the country Queen Silje surrenders....   And as such ends the 9 year long Crusade of the East. The land of Curonia is given up making thousands of Romuvans left for dead as the Christians inquisitors soon enough enter to find the heathens to force them to convert by the tip of a sword.  Known World of 1563 
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Jun 26, 2016 14:11
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Sorry for the super long hiatus, been super busy at work with HOI release and other stuff.
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Jun 26, 2016 14:13
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Eh, it's okay, life have a tendency to do that. Besides, this should teach those pesky Romuvans what happens when you insist on independence! Give it time and they'll most likely acknowledge their Gods as part of the Asgardians just like the Vanir.
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Jun 26, 2016 22:10
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The Lithuanians are Christians, the Romuvans were better off in our Kingdom than in the Lithuanian. I am sure they know this now.... Ranulf did everything within his power to do the will of the Queen and protect her Subjects but yet he failed. 
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Jun 26, 2016 22:26
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The usurper Queen's will is too weak to protect Skane, and this is a clear sign. The gods have rejected her misrule, and would rather hand over the faithful to Christian rule than let us suffer under her.
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Jun 26, 2016 23:04
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I am sure the most venerable Lord Cyrahzax would welcome the Fylkariate with open arms to rule the Scanians, the same Fylkariate that abandoned us in our time of need. If anything this war has proven that the Norse can not remain isolated from the Politics of the Christians and we need to dig into their courts with our ambassadors to turn them against each other. Groogy fucked around with this message at 23:39 on Jun 26, 2016 |
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Jun 26, 2016 23:36
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Back from the dead, just like our one and only lord Odin.
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Jun 27, 2016 00:27
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Turning the crossbearers against one another? Now you're talking!
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Jun 27, 2016 01:53
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Why all this religious turmoil when clearly the Norse are in the right? No Christian could ever turn the Baltic into a lake. 
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Aug 2, 2016 19:59
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 44. Veiztu, ef þú vin átt, þann er þú vel trúir, ok vill þú af hánum gótt geta, geði skaltu við þann blanda ok gjöfum skipta, fara at finna oft. Hast thou a friend whom thou trustest well, from whom thou cravest good? Share thy mind with him, gifts exchange with him, fare to find him oft. The Crusade of the East taught the elite of Skåne a lot, not only military but also made several administrative issues apparent where the Kingdom became hard to rule under distress as the various estates and ambitions of powerful figures would pull the state in different directions. Which is why the Serene Queen Silje used the aftermath of the war to reform and reshape the Government before the Nobles could muster the strength again and stop her. She orders the Cabinet Council to nominate potential members of government primarily picking from the lower nobility and to establish a big project of a building complex in the plain known as Friheden overlooking the grand harbor. These buildings would house the Högting, the Cabinet Council, the Advisory Corps and the offices of the Royal Forces moving these governmental branches out of the castle and thus distancing the Crown. Trivia: Yes there is an area in Trelleborg that is actually named Friheden(TL: The Liberty) and is almost right next to the old viking ring fortress.   Because of the enormous toll on the country took part in the least populated areas of the Kingdom the heresies have gained quite a strong foothold.   The war also saw most of the Royal Armies devastated and much of its organization is pretty much gone. Sir Ranulf and Army Reformer Bjørn Trolle of the Advisory Corps takes it upon themselves to restore the Royal Army as quickly as they can to make sure that the Realm remains ready to defend itself. New fresh recruits are gathered to fill the ranks and the army is yet again reorganized into the First and Second Royal Army stationed in Trelleborg and Halmstad respectively. Theologian Arne af Lindenov is hired by the Advisory Corp in Friheden to function as the Crowns spokesman to the various religions in this vast Kingdom.   As a year passes since the Crusade the lessons of the war is learnt especially from fighting in the cold northern mountains and frozen forests of Lappland covering northern Scandinavia. Also a thing that becomes apparent is that the structure setup for the colonies and the regular communications with them is that they are growing, the descendants of the Vikings does not fear the unknown and this virtue has even started to become assimilated by other cultures part of our realm.   In Western Europe another great war that was largely forgotten thanks to the war in the East comes to a close as our neighbor in Brittany, France comes out victor in a war to dismantle the Papal States Secular power. Also as of late the Scanian Kingdom have fallen behind in technological advancement and exploration thanks to the many conflicts its been part of. An opportunity to import the Cylindrical Projection to better represent Midgards surface but the Councillor of the Treasury says that the crown can not afford this expense at this time and discourage taking another loan from the Bank of Trelleborg.    However the colonies of the far west continues to flourish and grow thanks to migration and the unbelievable good fishing opportunities there. 4th of April, 1569 the Queen charters the colony as an administrative unit in her government named "Fylkeholm", Island of the People. Eskild af Lykke is appointed by the Cabinet Council as Governor of the affairs of this far away land.    It comes pretty out of the blue but her Majesty Silje issues a demand to the English king to surrender to Skåne and become part of the Kingdom. The Queen tries to do this move quickly before the tensions at the weak border towards England escalates more as the rival kingdom had managed to acquire quite strong allies like the mighty colonial Kingdom of Aragon and was working on allying the powerhouse of Poland in Central Europe. The English King however refuses and the Royal Armies which had been snuck into Skotland marshes towards London.    But another nation close by notices that the English might no-longer be anymore and as such declares their own war as vultures trying to scavenge whatever they can from it. The Queen of Milsariki however sends a message to Friheden detailing how they are coming in aid to Skåne in their time of need.  Aragon the largest ally of England can't come to their aid as their rival on the Iberian Peninsula, Castile ruled by the Swedish Stråben is attacking them for their colonies in Africa. In the Isles though it comes very apparent that the Irish Queen don't care one bit about helping the Scanian efforts to secure everyone safety by stabilizing the Isles.    With the success of the colonies of the North, efforts continue in Alagoas and a new crop is being grown there which was brought there by Jórsalheim traders. The drink brewed from this bean is highly sought after among the nobles of Scandinavia. With the new crop and new land to cultivate new methods of cultivation's have been invented and also some of these discoveries have also proven to be quite useful at home.   Though as Coffee becomes popular among the Norse population another bewrage from the east makes itself popular at the court of the Argonese Queen. The beverage of tea comes all the way from India and Cathay and it puts to question how far the colonial Empire of Aragon stretches compared to Skåne.  With the Milsariki intervention in the war it becomes impossible for Skåne to bring theentire Kingdom under control and as thus Queen Silje only manages to force the English to relinquish Lincolnshire and Norfolk. The Second Royal Army is stationed in Lincolnshire for now to guarantee the safety and prevent any retaliation from the English.  Time passes with relative calm for the Kingdom and no conflicts. The year comes to 1573 when Theologian Arne Lndenov publishes his book "Debt of a God" that becomes widely popular even in certain Christian regions. It is written as a fictional tale of a man who believes himself wronged by a god, but upon meeting this god after having done terrible things to reach him to end his vendetta the reader becomes aware of how the misfortune brought upon the man has been brought upon himself by consequences of his own. The books is videly popular as a commentary on the view that both do we have to serve the Gods and the Gods have to serve us. The book is often compared to the book by the Italian author Dante called Divina Commedia.  With having been at peace for so long the Scanian finances are finally settling and inflation and interest costs are no longer running rampant. But the Irish are still in full swing trying to bring their war to an end.   Through traders who often travel east new map charts come of a humongous archipelago south of the Cathay Empire.  With colonies more established in the west a lot of communication and trading have also started to go up with the natives of the region.   A big investment is done to modernize the Royal navy to make sure we can defend our domains in case of a conflict with one of the other sea faring powers. Finally in the year 1575 the war in the Isles end and the Irish Kingdom takes a large chunk out of it.   Even though the realm is at peace military advancements are still being and the Royal Army reforms it's cavalry to more suit the new battlefields and the fact that there are so few of them.    However the Högting as of late has been slowly becoming disgruntled about the indirect removal of their influence in crown politics by the creation of the Friheden complex and the now much more bureaucratic and solid government enforced by Her Majesty. As such a council will convene in year of 1575 to settle on several issues including what path the military should pursue in the future and what our foreign policy will be. The World of 1575   Vote will come today or tomorrow
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Aug 28, 2016 17:14
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 The Assembly is called to Friheden to discuss important matters to dictate the future of the Great Kingdom of Skåne. At the agenda are both domestic policies and foreign policies that need to be decided upon. Queen Silje sits at her throne frail from old age having just recently celebrated her 74 year on Midgard, some of the Thingemen when she perish. The meeting starts with a review of the current available information of the world around Skåne. Several hundreds of years since the Aztec invaded Europe they have fallen to be but their former shell of what they used to be. and the dominant power in the west have now become their former rivals in the south. The Sun Empire of the Incas. Skåne itself have fallen behind in its development compared to the behemoths of the East.  After the civil war and the great war waged against the Slavs not much of the Scanian Royal Forces remain. Even the vile Russians double our own forces and if a war were to break out yet again who knows how it would end. Luckily though the Scanian navy is still one of the largest in he world but the Royal Navy's main ships are starting to fall behind in technology as not enough investment is being done to keep ourselves up to date.   A review is also done of the recently done census of the people. It lists the country having populations who adhere to 8 different religions, the smallest one being Shia in Jorsalheim province of Tarabulus. Its a vast Kingdom with that contains besides the heartlands of Danish people, Pomeranians, Prussians, Swedes, Norwegians, old Norse, Scots, English, Welsh, Breton, Finnish, Estonian, Lappish, Lithuanian and Jórsalfarare.  First comes deciding on the future of the Royal Forces and where the money should be spent in order to keep them on the same level as potential rivals. There are two camps of military officers within the military, one that still holds on to the old culture of devastating the enemy through shock and awe.while the other camp is more reserved wanting to spare as many men as possible citing the depopulation of the nation has been a problem for decades now. Whatever is decided here will set the future attitude of the Royal Forces. Option 1: Pistolritter  The Pistolritter idea goes by that a whole regiment of men would ride towards the enemy and deliver a devastating blow before the enemy can organize a counter or even defend themselves. While the Pistolritters engage the rest of the army moves as fast as it can to catch up to the ritters. This tactic would require us to however devote more of our manpower to be mounted on horses than usually and the other camp calls it a reckless move. Option 2: Muskedraki  The Muskedraki continues on the old idea of the Housedraki created by the Holy Gleipnir Order but put emphasis on that the Muskedraki should never directly engage an enemy but keep themselves maneuverable and rather flee than fight a battle they can not win. The point of them would be to do precision attacks rather than use blunt force. However its opponents claim that this would make the soldiers weak and cowards and if we go this route we might as well abandon our cavalry all together. Next up is on deciding our future policies on our foreign affairs. For hundreds of years the Rulers of Skåne has not had to rely on foreign powers in order to protect itself but as the world have become more complex and more dangerous some feel our hand has been forced. It is more and more evident how Skåne and its people are a minor power compared to the alliance blocks that have formed to overtime. Even right on our border is the Grand Principality of Rus who outmatches us in all strengths. It is decided that two areas of Europe needs to be discussed and a decision to be made on how to handle it, The Russian region and the French region. For now the Seljuks, Byzantine and the Americans seem content with our minor presence near them and is left alone for now. In the east two options are proposed, both being polar opposites of each other as these two sides are currently at odds with each other as we speak. There are two power blocks in the area known as The Steppe Empires and the Pannonina Alliance. Currently the Pannonian Alliance consisting of Pannonia and the Great City of Kiev are invading Greater Bulgaria and have been quite successful at it. Acceptance of one of these foreign policies would mean that our alliance with The Fylkariate is annulled. Option 1: The Pannonian Alliance  Seen as the stronger one in the region they would be great friends in fighting the Poles and the Lithuanians however there is an argument against that these two powers probably are not as keen to help us in a war against the Grand Principality of Rus. However the Pannonians and Kievians are Europeans and much closer to ourselves than the Bulgarians and the Oghuz Turks are. Option 2: The Steppe Empires  The Golden League is the primary target of this policy as they have an immediate need to protect themselves from the Russians that lately have been slowly taking their land. The Golden League have a lot of potential power covering huge swaths of land and big room for growth, this could potentially be a long term alliance that would last for centuries, we however would be the major party in the relationship and would have to contribute the most in any war which would include Rus, Lithuania, Kiev or Pannonia. Option 3: The East is of no concern  According to some we do not need to worry about the east as we have already beaten their grand alliance of slavs once and can very much do it once again. They do not acknowledge that we should sacrifice our alliance with the Holy Fylkir in order to extend our power further east. In the west the situation isn't as clear but our primary enemy is France there whose Queen Fressenda I Jimena have had a longing gaze upon the land of the Breton.To the South we have the emerging great power of Castile and the rich Duke of Gascogne. To the North of France we have the many states of Lothringia divided among the princes of Luxemburg, Lorraine and Westfriesland. If any of the policies here goes through then we will have to drop our alliance with Milsarikí. Option 1: The Iberian Powers  A big case is made for us to ally Castile as they are currently fighting our colonial rival in Brazil, The Kingdom of Aragon. After that war comes to an end King Knut I Stråben whose ancestors come from Sweden themselves probably is going to want a strong ally against the growing threat in the old Frankish land. Option 2: The Roman Princes  The smaller princes in the lowlands and western Germany are very much inclined in finding friends to make sure they are defended not only from France but their predatory larger neighbors. However this would also potentially include that we would defend the Papal states as they are part of this vast network of alliances. Option 3: The French does not matter.  A lot of argument is made that the French are not nearly strong enough to take us on and that we do not need to worry about them taking our land in the Breton peninsula. Remember to use the  to make my life easier!Also if anyone have suggestions on new Norse unit types or technologies to be discovered let me know as I need to implement more of them. Groogy fucked around with this message at 16:26 on Sep 24, 2016 |
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Sep 24, 2016 16:00
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Options 1, 2 and 1 (in descending order) Also, your picture for the last option 1 is the same as the picture for the second option 3. EDIT: Changed my third answer. GenderSelectScreen fucked around with this message at 16:52 on Sep 24, 2016 |
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Sep 24, 2016 16:20
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Thanks! Fixed
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Sep 24, 2016 16:23
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Options 2, 2, and 3. The Steppe peoples are strange and foreign, but at least they are not Cross-bearers. In the west, we must stay close with our brethren in Milsarikí.
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Sep 24, 2016 20:47
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1! Our ancestors fought in the fray with our enemies, as such it is good enough for our descendants! 2! We don't need no cross-bearers as allies, the Steppes are good enough! Let the land of the Christian Rus be swallowed by the eastern horsemen! 3! The Stråben may be Scandinavians, but they're Christians still. Let Milsariki know that our alliance stands, as a united front against the cross-bearers in France. If Brittany should fall then let it be so, our true might lies at sea!
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Sep 25, 2016 11:30
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1, 2, 1 gives a good mix of keeping with cultural tradition but moving toward a more open religious stance, which considering the schisms developing is the wise Norseman's choice. And literally I just put together that you're the guy playing the Coptomans in the dev game. It's so beautifully gamey, I love it. Take no prisoners.
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Sep 26, 2016 21:08
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Oh if you just knew my longterm plans  Let's say after a specific war I will no longer have to call myself Roman Emperor, I will be the Roman Emperor 
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Sep 26, 2016 23:44
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Groogy posted:Oh if you just knew my longterm plans Boy you weren't kidding. 5 minutes in and the aggression kicks the hell off e: last derail but Wiz broing up to convert Rome for you is pretty great gbuchold fucked around with this message at 21:31 on Sep 27, 2016 |
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Sep 27, 2016 20:59
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gbuchold posted:
The North is ours, and to look east or south endangers that.
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Sep 27, 2016 21:19
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