The Trials of the Sons of Odin: A Paradox AAR. Chapter 4: The Reaver

(Source: http://www.creatinghistory.com/rollo-the-viking/)
A new era had been born for the Germanic people. Although the world had been broken by the Great Unravelling, no other group had come together like the men of the north (save perhaps the Tengri Balkin Kingdoms, that regularly united but just as regularly fractured). Now united, these men looked beyond their own lands, to those of other faiths…

The Kings, Jarls and Godis of the Germanic people gathered in the hall of Castle Lade and for many days debated their next course of action for the Germanic people. Many were there suggestions, with Christians, Slavic or the Romuvan people as possible targets. A full quarter of those in attendance wanted to strike eastward, to the Kingdom of Lithuania but the majority wanted revenge against the Christians though. A southern thrust was popular amongst some of the more aggressive lords. However, in the end cooler heads prevailed and the target was selected: The Petty Kingdom on Mann.

(Source: https://s-media-cache-ak0 . pinimg . com/236x/ba/47/ee/ba47ee81e3d9e7a028ce8495d227a132 . jpg)
Representatives of the Grand Republic of Brythoniaid were the only Germanic presence on an otherwise Christian realm. They argued that the Germanic presence would needed to be expanded here before the conquest of the mainland could begin. Many others present, nervous about a direct conflict with the Christian heartlands to the south but cautious of the rapidly unifying threat there, saw the British Isles as the best place to strengthen the Germanic position at the expense of the Christians. With their destination decided, other parties started to push claims for different sections of the island:

(Source: Source: https://s-media-cache-ak0 . pinimg . com/736x/94/59/01/945901b5fa42b81d113dea97442c8947 . jpg)
The Warchief of the Jomsvikings, whose men were based out of a few castles in the realms of generous nobles who had donated land (and castles in the lands of heathen rulers who were not so tolerant) argued for a dedicated realm that they would then be able to fight alongside other rulers in their wars against the unbelievers. To be able to support themselves however, they needed their own land to supply their legion.

(Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothi)
The Godis of the faith (although not the Fylkir himself), stated that the church would need a presence on the isles. They claimed that to be able to assist the local lords who, once their lands were conquered, would need to show the Christians the error of their ways and to bring them into the fold. With a Jarldom in their control, the warriors in the venture would surely be blessed by the Thunderer himself and the natives of the land would flock to the cause.

(Source: https://s-media-cache-ak0 . pinimg . com/originals/d7/49/0d/d7490df158c4bbee79f2fb8029d38848 . jpg)
Finally, the Republic appealed to the council for an expansion to their land. Holding only the costal provinces of Brythoniaid, they would need to push inland to establish a stronger presence. They also claimed the Jarldom of Cornwall through cultural ties to the people there. [When I created the Republic initially, I gave it to the only Welsh courtier I had, and I am surprised I actually had one.]

At the end, before those present, laid the next step of Germanic expansion. Since time immemorial, the faithful had never undertaken a quest so difficult and so complete: The subjugation of the entire British Isles. Broken into five segments the division was as follows. The first target, as determined by the council, was the north of the main island. The Great Reaving would end the line of Christian rulers of Mann. Once complete the force would turn northward and complete the conquest of the Highlands. To this would go to he who, before the eyes of men and gods, contributed the most to the war. [Dark grey is the main target whilst the light grey is the remaining area to be taken]

Beyond this, the church would claim the lands to the south and east of the Mann. South of this, the east coast of the main island would go to the Jomsvikings, granting them land close to the mainland to support future Great Reavings but still close enough to the traditional Norse lands to receive support [Teal coloured lands]. In the west, the republic would take more fertile lands towards the centre of the island. In conclusion, the Fylkir declared the remaining areas free to any but the aforementioned groups, claiming that “let he, by Right of Might, who seek to claim these lands do so” [White areas]

To finish the gathering, Fylkir Eilif gathered all in attendance to the statue his father commissioned. Behind it stood a large runestone, depicting the great events of the life of the First Fylkir. Moving to the front of the crowd he stood before all presence and declared that all faithful men present return to their homes and prepare. When the time was right, the Fylkir would call upon each and every one of them to embark upon their ships and bring northern fury upon the realm of Mann and the rest of the islands.

To those that stood in front of the statue however, there was another presence there. Each man claimed that when the Fylkir spoke, his voice was different, powerful. The shadow from the runestone cast a shadow on him, covering part of his face and obscuring one eye. To all those there the answer was simple, Odin himself had given his approval on the course ahead.

To prepare for the Great Reaving, Fylkir Eilif sent his spymaster to determine the strength of the opponent and learn all he could. The information brought back would not only help with the deployment of the army, but helped with the technological development of the nation.

The laws of the realm were the next obstacle to be removed before war was declared, for what man could tell a Fylkir when and where to bring the fury of the Gods? The concessions won from his father were wound back, so that the ruler stood in control of his realm. Now wanting to push the nobles too far however, the council was allowed to keep the right to vote on the changes to law that rulers would make.

This was too much for the traitors and heretics within the realm. Angry over the way that the nation was moving forward, the conservative factions banded together to strike. Some of the Jarls rose against the Fylkir, saying that if the council would have the right to pass laws, then they should have the right to name he who would by Fylkir. At the same time, they instigated the peasants who had not accepted the re-interpretation of the faith to rise against their Jarls and the Fylkir to weaken the kingdom. At the start of the war, the attackers quickly gained the edge and it seemed as though the new light for the Norse people would be extinguished. But the Fylkir rallied his men and, leading from the front, brought those involved to justice.

Internal issues were not the only threat present. King Falki of the Norse lands of Holland, who had rejected the Fylkir’s invitation to the grand gathering, invaded Norge. His objective was simple, the complete subjugation of the realm and the removal of the Fylkir from this world. To make matters worse, the Republic of Danmark declared war on the Kingdom of Pomerania. Not able to sit idly by whilst his own twin brother was attacked, the Fylkir mobilised his men for the war on both fronts.

This help however was misconstrued by the King as that he was not strong enough to rule himself. Writing to his brother, he demanded that he punish a visiting noble who boasted of the strength of the armies of the Fylkir. Offended by the actions of King Solvi, their relationship broke down and was never repaired before the Kings death a few years later.

Many improvements were made in preparation for the invasion, battleplans put forward and tested, harbors built to support the transport of the men required, and a new invention was presented by the realms Marshal. A new type of siege weapon that, when it actually hit, would cause great damage to a castles walls. Dispite its limited success, the Fylkir had to decline the Marshalls offer to build more as the gunpowder would not work when wet, an issue when the device was to be transported by ship.

Not all discoveries were focused on the military. Word had been sent that some brave men of Noregr had sailed further east, apparently locating another continent far away. Whether these lands had actually been discovered would be a debate that would be held for many hundreds of years. [I was getting ready to rant about how it was weird that this event could happen when EU4 wouldn’t allow you to explore for many more years, but then it turns out that this is historically accurate. Don’t let it be said that games aren’t informative. Not back to the totally accurate story I am telling.]

(Source: https://s-media-cache-ak0 . pinimg . com/736x/0e/f6/bc/0ef6bc601640ce88e53371a404380aaf . jpg)
Finally, the day that had been many years and two Fylkirs in the making. A call to arms was issues to the followers of Odin, stand with your Fylkir and be counted. Each man would come was guaranteed a place in Valhalla. The wars undertaken would take many years but the goal was mighty. The establishment of new Germanic kingdoms and the expansion of the republic would see the nations of the north prosper. This next venture would either be a foundation onto which they would climb, or that what would cause the whole dream of a unified front destroyed.

(Source: https://s-media-cache-ak0 . pinimg . com/736x/da/62/41/da624102457facd3b87fdddd978ca085 . jpg)
The initial push into the lands of the Scott was surprisingly uneventful. The local Christians, not believing the threat posed by the Norseman, had not bothered to muster their armies when the longships were spotted off the coast, thinking that it was another of the many raids that were inflicted upon these lands. Before they could react, waves of heavily armed and armoured men swarmed the costal defences and marched in land. A detachment of men leads by the Fylkir himself sailed to the Isle of Mann, to siege the Kings home. With no help and no hope, the Christian was removed from his realm and so was his head. [So as it turns out, for whatever reason, that the Petty Kingdom of Mann was actually not a valid Great Holy War target. That which knows all, Google, was unfortunately unable to shed any light on why this was the case, even though I could declare against other targets instead. So with the use of a holy war and a little bit of console magic, I took the whole realm. Little unfortunate but that’s what I get for not checking beforehand.]

The Christian realms was in shock, one of its largest members had become a bastion for the followers of Odin, and their expansion was not stopping. The full might of the armies of Christ was raised and sent to reclaim what was theirs. Meanwhile, the horse of Norseman had expanded the war, capturing several provinces and establishing the second main objective: The Arch-Theocracy of Lothian. The enemy was not a united force however, and reinforcements arrived haphazardly. The Fylkir knew that the only way to victory was to keep his army together and tackle one problem at a time. Whilst victories were won, the sheer volume of troops meant that much of the initial lands captured were overrun. The armies were close to defeat, but they had faith. [Eagle eyed people may notice the flag of the 1115 stack to the left is the County of Corsica. I am fairly confident that every Count-level Catholic ruler was in this war, it was massive.]

And their faith was rewarded. 15 years after the first ship had landed the majority of the first and second objective had been achieved. The Kingdom of Scotland and the Arch-Theocracy of Lothian stood as twin realms, signifying a new era for the British Isles. The growing concerns of thee Christians meant that they had set aside their petty squabbles and agreed to come to the defence of any of their members that was attacked by the Fylkir. The dream stopped, the Great Norse Horde was finally disbanded. Fathers whom had left behind babies, returned to meet grown men. Wives who had waited so long to hear of their partner’s fate waited on the piers with equal parts hope and dread. The realm needed to rest, and so did the Fylkir.

The many battles and sieges had left the dungeons of Castle Lade overflowing, and as was required, the Fylkir ordered his vassals gather and many former and current Catholic lord was lead to the gallows and the afterlife. The deed done, a grand feast was prepared and for a whole week, the kingdom came to a standstill in celebration.

(Source: https://www.historyanswers.co.uk/medieval-renaissance/castles-in-scotland-from-battling-the-norse-to-defying-the-english/)
For many years the realm was at peace. The Fylkir had demanded a third of the lifetime of many of his levies, and the life of many more on top of that. Instead the nation focused on internal improvements, and many great works of construction were ordered. Castle Lade was expanded to be even bigger than before, with more halls and barracks commissioned and the surrounding town built up. Many of the other holdings of the Fylkir, for so long abandoned, were improved upon.

Finally, after many years of rest, the alliance opposing the Great Reaving disbanded, and fell again to infighting. Fylkir Eilif raised his levies and set out for the remaining independent counties alone. However, he was no longer a young man, and with only one hand, the other being removed a few years previous due to illness, he was not the fighter he once was. Injured on the battlefield, he would not live to see more than one more county added to the realm. That task would fall to his heir: Fylkir Hroðgar Eilifson.