Shaitan
der Besucher
Kenneth MacAlpine sat uneasily upon his carved oaken throne. His advisors and councilors argued meaninglessly in small groups around the great hall of Edinburgh. He caught snippets of conversations and frowned. While he wrestled with the future of his people, the brightest minds in the land were jockeying for their own positions and meaningless personal advantage. He let the sound of their voices fall to a drone in the back of his mind as he lent his thoughts to Scotlands situation.
His grandfather had founded the city of Edinburgh, bringing together the Scottish clans and forming a true society out of the disparate celtic peoples. In his father's time a group of adventurous farmers and soldiers had spread the Scottish influence with the shining city of Sterling as the result. He himself had organized the settlers (and their escorts) to spread his power to the far coast. Glasgow had been the fruition of his dreams and goals as the leader of his people. It had been. Until the Danes burned it to the ground, slaughtering thousands of women and children to impress upon Kenneth just how serious they were about their plans for dominion.
The Danelaw and the Scots had never been friendly. Oh yes, in the beginning they had shared some basic knowledge and Scotland had even welcomed a group of itinerant Danish workers. The peaceful relationship had not lasted long though. Scotland was in the way of the Danish expansion. First came a request for a small gift, to help Canute show his people that the Scots were their friends. Then came a demand for a similar gift. When he later demanded not only tribute but the secrets of the Scottish sages as well, Kenneth had realized the truth in the saying "You may pay the Danegeld but you will never be rid of the Dane". Seeing there would be no end to these demands of tribute he had refused Canute's demands. The results were immediate. The Danelaw launched a full assault against the much smaller Scottish dynasty.
Things had gone well for Kenneth at first. His cities were well defended and much larger than the holdings of the Danes. Countless Danish warriors died at the ends of Scottish spears. The valiant defenders of Sterling, led by the MacAlpine himself, had defeated a force three times their size and sent the Danes running like a whipped dog. The men holding Glasgow had not been as fortunate. With a garrison half as large as Sterling's they mustered to defend against a force half again as great as the one Sterling had faced. They made the Danes pay in blood for every foot of battlefield, every farmhouse, every outpost and hill. They had been beaten back mercilessly to Glasgow itself. Even there in the streets the defenders had bloodied the Danes. While their homes burned about them, with the sounds of their families' screams in their ears, they harried the invaders. But the Danes were too many. Glasgow burned and its people died.
Kenneth was awakened from his reverie (or nightmare, if you prefer) by the sudden lack of noise about him. A courier had entered the hall and was approaching him. The young Dane bowed a shade too shallowly and held up his ceremonial staff, indicating he would be speaking with the words of another. Stifling an urge to wipe the smirk off of the boy's face with the back of his hand, he bade him speak his message.
"These are the words of Canute the Great, King, Lord and Emperor of The Danelaw: In our infinite compassion we will grant peace to the beleaguered people of Scotland. However, we must recoup our expenses. The original refusal to pay the Danegeld that was our rightful due has forced us to make many expenditures on troops and supplies. The price of peace will be the entire royal treasury of Edinburgh, 6 caravans of gold every spring and Scottish secrets of literature. These demands are not negotiable. If you refuse, Sterling and then Edinburgh will meet the fate of Glasgow and the Scots will be removed from the face of the world."
Kenneth was stunned. Surely Canute knew that these were impossible demands. The entire treasury and then the entire income of his people every year. Scotland would become a beggar nation overnight. War, with the possibility of the death of his people, or peace, at such a price that Scotland might never recover the loss. His advisors and councilors were uncharacteristically silent. The shock and amazement on their faces would have been humorous in other circumstances. He sent the courier to the kitchens (with a guard to keep the Dane alive) to fill his belly while Kenneth and his councilors debated the Danish demands.
By the time the courier had returned to the throne room the decision had been made. "Return these words to your lord and master" said Kenneth.
What does Kenneth say?
"The Scots will never rest until the Danish scourge is beaten back into the slimy depths from which they emerged. Our revenge for Glasgow will be Canute's head."
"Canute, we accept your terms for peace and will henceforth pay the Danegeld."
"We must refuse these ruinous terms. Perhaps later, after the Danish soldiery stack like cordwood upon our battlefields, Canute will tender a more reasonable demand."
Background and game stuff
Game is standard map, raging barbs, some specified civs (Brittany, Danes, Kent, Man, Wales) with the rest random. All map specs are random. Monarch difficulty level (had to leave a bit of room for error as I won't be following my own basic strategies).
Danegeld was the tribute paid to the Danes by the kingdoms of Brittain. Sort of ironic how that worked out here with the Danelaw demanding ever increasing tribute just like the Danes did in real history.
Edinburgh is in an amazingly fertile area, though it is never going to be an industry giant. Builds are slow but population growth is spectacular. Excellent resources are found in Scotland. For those unfamiliar with the British Isles mod, the resource south of Stirling is stone (required for walls, cathedral and colloseum). The resource next to Lindisfarme is hardwood (required for all wooden ships except galley).
So, what do we do now? Scotland is in a very picklish situation. It should be possible to hold out against the Danes for quite some time. They haven't attacked with anything except warriors and spearmen yet. They do have horseriding though and there's a horse resource between Scotland and The Danelaw. No way the Scots could prevent them from settling there and getting horsemen on line. They should also have bows but I haven't seen any yet. Brittany is to the south but have absolutely refused to get involved against the Danes. (Hard to blame them really.) They might come around if the Scots can turn the tide of battle a bit.
You decide the story! Let me know how the Scots should respond. I'll run the next chapter as closely to your responses as I can. If you have other ideas (besides the very crucial decision being made right now) spit those out too. I'll try to use as much as I can. I'm the actors here, you guys are the directors.
The map (as of 1425bc):
His grandfather had founded the city of Edinburgh, bringing together the Scottish clans and forming a true society out of the disparate celtic peoples. In his father's time a group of adventurous farmers and soldiers had spread the Scottish influence with the shining city of Sterling as the result. He himself had organized the settlers (and their escorts) to spread his power to the far coast. Glasgow had been the fruition of his dreams and goals as the leader of his people. It had been. Until the Danes burned it to the ground, slaughtering thousands of women and children to impress upon Kenneth just how serious they were about their plans for dominion.
The Danelaw and the Scots had never been friendly. Oh yes, in the beginning they had shared some basic knowledge and Scotland had even welcomed a group of itinerant Danish workers. The peaceful relationship had not lasted long though. Scotland was in the way of the Danish expansion. First came a request for a small gift, to help Canute show his people that the Scots were their friends. Then came a demand for a similar gift. When he later demanded not only tribute but the secrets of the Scottish sages as well, Kenneth had realized the truth in the saying "You may pay the Danegeld but you will never be rid of the Dane". Seeing there would be no end to these demands of tribute he had refused Canute's demands. The results were immediate. The Danelaw launched a full assault against the much smaller Scottish dynasty.
Things had gone well for Kenneth at first. His cities were well defended and much larger than the holdings of the Danes. Countless Danish warriors died at the ends of Scottish spears. The valiant defenders of Sterling, led by the MacAlpine himself, had defeated a force three times their size and sent the Danes running like a whipped dog. The men holding Glasgow had not been as fortunate. With a garrison half as large as Sterling's they mustered to defend against a force half again as great as the one Sterling had faced. They made the Danes pay in blood for every foot of battlefield, every farmhouse, every outpost and hill. They had been beaten back mercilessly to Glasgow itself. Even there in the streets the defenders had bloodied the Danes. While their homes burned about them, with the sounds of their families' screams in their ears, they harried the invaders. But the Danes were too many. Glasgow burned and its people died.
Kenneth was awakened from his reverie (or nightmare, if you prefer) by the sudden lack of noise about him. A courier had entered the hall and was approaching him. The young Dane bowed a shade too shallowly and held up his ceremonial staff, indicating he would be speaking with the words of another. Stifling an urge to wipe the smirk off of the boy's face with the back of his hand, he bade him speak his message.
"These are the words of Canute the Great, King, Lord and Emperor of The Danelaw: In our infinite compassion we will grant peace to the beleaguered people of Scotland. However, we must recoup our expenses. The original refusal to pay the Danegeld that was our rightful due has forced us to make many expenditures on troops and supplies. The price of peace will be the entire royal treasury of Edinburgh, 6 caravans of gold every spring and Scottish secrets of literature. These demands are not negotiable. If you refuse, Sterling and then Edinburgh will meet the fate of Glasgow and the Scots will be removed from the face of the world."
Kenneth was stunned. Surely Canute knew that these were impossible demands. The entire treasury and then the entire income of his people every year. Scotland would become a beggar nation overnight. War, with the possibility of the death of his people, or peace, at such a price that Scotland might never recover the loss. His advisors and councilors were uncharacteristically silent. The shock and amazement on their faces would have been humorous in other circumstances. He sent the courier to the kitchens (with a guard to keep the Dane alive) to fill his belly while Kenneth and his councilors debated the Danish demands.
By the time the courier had returned to the throne room the decision had been made. "Return these words to your lord and master" said Kenneth.
What does Kenneth say?
"The Scots will never rest until the Danish scourge is beaten back into the slimy depths from which they emerged. Our revenge for Glasgow will be Canute's head."
"Canute, we accept your terms for peace and will henceforth pay the Danegeld."
"We must refuse these ruinous terms. Perhaps later, after the Danish soldiery stack like cordwood upon our battlefields, Canute will tender a more reasonable demand."
Background and game stuff
Game is standard map, raging barbs, some specified civs (Brittany, Danes, Kent, Man, Wales) with the rest random. All map specs are random. Monarch difficulty level (had to leave a bit of room for error as I won't be following my own basic strategies).
Danegeld was the tribute paid to the Danes by the kingdoms of Brittain. Sort of ironic how that worked out here with the Danelaw demanding ever increasing tribute just like the Danes did in real history.
Edinburgh is in an amazingly fertile area, though it is never going to be an industry giant. Builds are slow but population growth is spectacular. Excellent resources are found in Scotland. For those unfamiliar with the British Isles mod, the resource south of Stirling is stone (required for walls, cathedral and colloseum). The resource next to Lindisfarme is hardwood (required for all wooden ships except galley).
So, what do we do now? Scotland is in a very picklish situation. It should be possible to hold out against the Danes for quite some time. They haven't attacked with anything except warriors and spearmen yet. They do have horseriding though and there's a horse resource between Scotland and The Danelaw. No way the Scots could prevent them from settling there and getting horsemen on line. They should also have bows but I haven't seen any yet. Brittany is to the south but have absolutely refused to get involved against the Danes. (Hard to blame them really.) They might come around if the Scots can turn the tide of battle a bit.
You decide the story! Let me know how the Scots should respond. I'll run the next chapter as closely to your responses as I can. If you have other ideas (besides the very crucial decision being made right now) spit those out too. I'll try to use as much as I can. I'm the actors here, you guys are the directors.
The map (as of 1425bc):
