The Trials of the Sons of Odin: A Paradox AAR. Chapter 10: The Great Reaver (Part 3)

(Source: https://www.realmofhistory.com/2015/11/25/10-things-show-know-vikings-warfare/)War is the main occupation for the people of Noregr. Although they may spend their days in the field, extracting from the earth what is needed to survive, or in the cities, trading wares for coin, in the end all are called to fight for their homeland. Some wars were in defence of their brothers, the Pomerainians or Scotts, against those that would seek to remove them from their lands. Other wars were in aggression, spreading the word of Odin and Thor in their chosen form, the battlefield. War has defined the realm of Noregr, and the final years of Fylkir Bjorn, the Great Reaver, would be no different.

The time that the Fylkir had spent in meditation had not only resulted in revelations of personal spiritual nature, but also of the nature of the role of the Fylkir in the nation. Why should the lesser houses of Noregr demand a say in the realm hold themselves equal to the power and majesty of House Herja? With that decided the council was stripped of the limited powers it had and was once more made subservient to the will of the Fylkir.

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The Catholics were coming once more.

In order to gather the funds needed to support the raised levies, the Fylkir toured a city with a tax collector, hoping to improve his understanding of the way that the realm worked, and to inspire the folk who would have to bear the weight of the upcoming battles. Although necessary, the act of collecting taxes unsettled the Fylkir.

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With the taxes collected, next the levies were raised. Across the realm men and women donned their armour and answered the calls of their Jarls. Once again the warriors of Noregr were called upon to defend their brethren, their faith and their place in the world.

With the levies of the Jarls raised, they marched through Danmark to meet with the personal garrison of the Fylkir. Summoned from the isles once news of the Crusade had reached, they had abandoned several sieges and set sail for the mainland. However, with every warrior gathered, the armies of Noregr were still outnumbered by the combined effort of the Catholic forces. There was no choice, they would march to victory, or death.

(Source: http://www.mixedmartialarts.com/forums/OtherGround/Viking-Market-in-Denmark-pics:2348615)
From the reports from the scouts the Fylkir knew that the Catholics had separated into two forces. By themselves they could be defeated, however if they came together then the Northmen would not stand a chance. The Fylkirs armies would have to both launch a devastating charge against the first army and be prepared to be counter charged by the arriving reinforcements. With one of the army moving south and putting the Elba river between them, the Fylkir saw his chance, everything would come to at the Battle of Hermannsburg.

With their plans made, the men marched. The Catholic army had been moving south and were caught outside the village of Hermannsburg. Charging from concealed wood growth, several groups charged the convoy as it moved. In the confusion the guard of the Catholic king of Mali was quickly overwhelmed and the foreign lord was slain. Falling back, the crusading armies regathered and began forming proper lines. With the ambush sprung, the Fylkir ordered the rest of his armies to advance

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With the ambush sprung the Catholics attempted to fall back to prepare a proper battle formation. Several riders were sent back north to the other Catholic army. Although most were captured, one made it through the roaming scouts. Riding day and night, the news of the attack was brought to the northern forces, reinforcements we now marching south.

With their brethren arriving, the Catholics threw themselves against the lines of the Noregr. Outnumbered, the northerners fought like legends. For every man that fell, two or three of his foes would be at his feet. Despite effort made by the northern warriors, their flank collapsed after a charge by one of the Catholic armies. However, unknown to the men on this flank, their brethren had just been broken by the main Norse army, and rather than crashing into an undefended side, the Catholics found a redoubled centre.

The Battle of Hermannsburg was the defining point of the Pomeranian crusade. The story of the Norsemen fighting off the Pope’s forces and breaking them inspired countless sagas from that day on. With their forces retreating and the Fylkir in pursuit, the Catholics were not able to summon additional support, the rest of the war would be a series of rearguard battles and relief sieges.

It was not all victories however, and many good men met their end against the Catholics. One of whom was the Warlord of the Wolves of Midgard. The loss of one of the senior commanders of the Fylkirs forces threw the army into disarray.

To mark the great victory, the Fylkir lead a grand celebration with many sacrifices and offerings to the gods. Surely the Thunderer guided them on this important task.

It became evident to the Pope that his plans for a Catholic Pomerania was doomed. Once again the Gate to the North was defended, although the loss in life on both sides was great. For the second time in his reign, Fylkir Bjorn had fought off the advances of the Catholics into Pomerania However, this was not the end of hostilities ….

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It became more and more evident that the Fylkirs grip on the mortal world was becoming more strained. One morning, whilst approaching a village on the coast, he became aware of a group of pagans who worshipped an ancient religion. What happened is unknown but according to the now heretical ‘Hinn Gamli’ the Fylkir fought a being of unfathomable power. What is known is that the Fylkir was found the next day, alone on the beach.

Another loss to the Fylkir was his nephew, the King of Skotland. Falling in battle against the last holdouts of Catholic rule in the isles, the kingdom was once again returned to the rule of Fylkir.

Even with the loss of the King of Skotland, the wars on the isles were completed. Now stood the dream of numerous Fylkirs, finally, as Odin had promised the Great Reaving was completed. Although the Catholics still controlled the south end of the main isle and the majority of the western isle, none could deny that the Isles were firmly under the dominance of the Norse faith.

To celebrate this, rather than incorporate the Kingdom of Skotland into his personal domain, Fylkir ordered the creation of the King-Priesthood of Skotland, formally the Archpriesthood of Lothian. The priesthood would now manage the first lands taken when the Northman descended upon these lands.

With the completion of so many wars, the men who had marched with the Fylkir were finally allowed to return home. For many years had these men fought beside their lord and now they had to return home. To help keep those who had nothing to go back to from creating mischief, a massive construction effort was ordered across the realm.

During the construction effort, Fylkir Bjorn made several tours of the construction sites. Speaking with the elders of the villages that were working on the improvements, the Fylkir insured that moral was high and that the work proceeded ahead of schedule.

These visits did not always go to plan. In Finmark to the far north, the peasants took offence to something said by the Fylkir. Barely escaping, the Fylkir swore never to return to such a backwater county.

With the construction effort nearing completion, the next course of action needed to be planned. For generations, when a Fylkir had gathered enough funds and enough men, they would sail to the isles. But what was to be done now? A new Great Reaving was needed, however it could not be another massive undertaking like the previous. The focus on one objective for so long had blinded previous rulers to other threats. This next Great Reaving would need to be one that could be won in a single war, but whose victory would greatly strengthen the faithful, like that of Fylkir Starkard in the land of Polish people. To find this objective, the Fylkir consulted many Godi’s and reviewed many holy texts, he would find the answer.

(Source: http://www.westeroscraft.com/forum/m/12700545/viewthread/17274116-medieval-castle-construction-bbc-series/post/last)
Finally, the many construction efforts that Fylkir Bjorn had ordered were completed. Not only had this improved the realm, it had meant that many men employed, disciplined, and loyal to the Fylkir. These qualities would be needed in the coming war against their next foe.

For two long had the war against the unfaithful been fought against the Catholics, for too long had the followers of the other false gods been spared the wrath that was their due. Finally, Fylkir Bjorn understood what Odin had promised him before, it would be his duty to expand the faith in a direction that had never occurred with any other Fylkir before him: east.

Before leaving to lead the armies, the Fylkir was able to witness the coming of age ceremony for his son. The father and son could not be more different, Fylkir Bjorn was a man that was larger than life, a master of combat. His son was a master of court intrigue but was a hunchback, physically different from the rest of the court.

The declaration of war inspired many rebellious Jarls and marginalised peasants to rise up whilst the army marched eastward. The Fylkir was faced with a hard choice, if he marched back to Noregr there would be a risk of the Great Reaving falling apart, the support he had earned with his fellow leaders would be undone if they saw him abandon at the first sign of trouble. Consequently, if the armies continued their march, the rebels would be allowed to run rampart. Therefore, the Fylkir was forced to split his forces. Those who were sworn to a holy order or were levies from the Jarls continued the march east, those who were raised from the Fylkirs personal holdings were ordered back to deal with the rebel menace.

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Unlike the previous wars for the past few generations, the Great Reaving took place in the cold weathers in the north. It had been a while since the had been need to face a foe in this weather. These were men of Noregr, and ice was in their veins.

The King of Rus was quickly shown the power of the follows of Odin. Unable to stand against the fury unleashed upon him, he quickly offered to renounce his old pagan gods and embrace the way of Odin. In one move had the eastern side of the Norse faith been expanded and another King brought to Frey’s embrace.

The King of Rus did not last long in this realm after his conversion. It was later stated that is was good of the Fylkir to march on the Rus people when he did, so as to save the eternal life of the former monarch so that it may be sent to Valhalla. The new King of Rus was converted to the true faith by his father. To secure his rule, Fylkir Bjorn arranged for the marriage between a son of the new king and one of his daughters.

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The conversion of their former monarch, his subsequent death and the coronation of his faithful son had strained the nation of the Rus. The realm was still very divided, as many of the Kings vassals were still of the of the native faith. Several rebellious minor lords had banded together to put one of their own on the throne. As well as that, a mob of peasants had risen up in protest over alleged injustices from the crown. And finally, a Muslim lord to the south had declared his intention to carve his own peace out of the kingdoms holdings. As was required, the Fylkir marched against each of these foes, honouring the newly established alliance.

As a stroke of luck, one of those battled was ended fairly quickly with the capture of the Muslim Sultan. Although there were still many battles left, one was brought to a quick conclusion by the combat might of the men of the north. And although it took its time, the wars were eventually won. The, now Norse, Kingdom of Rus was finally at peace.

With the wars in the east finally finished, Fylkir Bjorn could once again able to return to Castle Lade. For a lot of the time of his rule, the Fylkir was away from his children and family. Finally, with the wars won, he could return home and dedicate time to those he had neglected for so long.

But this was not to last, and one morning the Fylkir was found dead in his bed. And so passed Fylkir Bjorn, the Great Reaver. He would more commonly called Bjorn the Great. Never before had there been such an influential and powerful ruler. Not only completing his own Great Reaving but the first and greatest, issued Fylkir Eilif so many years ago. However, his rule was controversial, with many questioning the grip that the man had with the moral world. Some would use this as a detractor, others as a sign that he truly was in touch divine. The kingdoms influence stretched both west and east, the next generation would only have one direction to expand the faith, into the realm of the Catholics.