During the reign of Gautrek the coward the importance of Iona had diminished, and throughout the 9th and 10th centuries the city of Kalmar handled the diplomatic dealings of the Norse people. As well as the English, new nations had sprung to life in the ravaged lands of Europe. Emissaries from the French and the Germans were warmly received, with a little gold passing hands to ensure open passage for the Norse through these new lands. Ambassadors from the ancient and mighty Babylonian Empire rode all across Europe to the Kings court in Kalmar. However the Babylonians did not respect the rising Norse nation, and no deals or treaties were forecoming.
In the east the descendants of the Norse scouts travelled further through the Chinese Empire, meeting an island nation not quite as mighty as its neighbour. The Japanese were at war with the Chinese, but the scouts did not report any actual conflict occurring.
A few years later the Chinese offered the Norse new military technologies and gold, but the cunning Norse negotiators upped the price in their favour and many riches were sent back west to Kalmar.
Kalmar, the most southern Norse city and the closest to Europe was becoming more and more cosmopolitan, and in 950 a great merchant from Iberia came to set up in the cities market.
The people of Kalmar had seen their city become a hub for merchandise, now they dreamed of becoming the administrative centre of the Kingdoms. Maybe this could lead to becoming the Norse capital, ahead of troubled Iona. The whipped construction of a courthouse meant that the citizens could now dedicate themselves to new matters.
As there was much empty land between the three kingdoms the current King of Lulea, Bjarn son of Olaf, sent his own son Osvald to settle a new city closer to the North sea.
The next year the attentions of the resident great merchant in Kalmar brought the secrets of civil service to the kingdom. Though at first unwilling to share this new knowledge the King of Kalmar was persuaded by the promise of hordes of new ferocious berserkers to fight for the Norse cause.
The old warbands wintering in Iona were keen to be fitted out with these new military advances, and were quickly raiding the western coast of England capturing many serfs.
To the west an independent Gaelic state had come to being, but it was immediately threatened by vicious English colonists.
The launch of a new Viking warship brought a new freedom to the British waters, and Ionas leaders could see the full makeup of the British Isles.
However this security was not to last long as the new warship perished in its first sea battle, and Hrolfs old flagship had to finish off the invaders.
In 990 the city of Oslo was founded at the mouth of the Baltic, aiming to complete Viking control of the straits. This was threatened by a new Kingdom to the south, whose Danish settlements threatened future Norse resources.
To the Far East China had completed work on a Great Wall to protect their sprawling empire. As the Norse scouts toured the periphery they could only marvel at the unprotected peasants working happily out of reach of the barbarian hordes.
A glance at the religious makeup of the world showed that the great Norse King Hrolf had been right to rid Iona of the Christian menace, their Holy City had been razed, probably in the Sack of Europe.
By the beginning of the twelfth century a Norse King had come to power who finally had the power to crush the English rebellion. Thorgir, son of Kotvi, rallied a great Norse army and came sweeping down from his Scottish lands to take the English lands. By the end of the year the grand army had come to the walls of London unopposed. Troops had arrived from across the seas, travelling down from Lulea in search of plunder and conquest.
Even as their capital lay under siege English colonists finally took control of Eire, sensing their mainland holdings may not endure.
In fact the English capital was to fall quickly, the walls were not even half broken before eager berserkers were pouring through the breaches. The English bowmen could do nothing against such savagery, and in Thorgir raised his flag overlooking the Thames, and claimed all English lands as his own.
Over the coming years the Queen of England refused to capitulate, and so the Norse army came to the gates of Exeter, the last outpost of resistance in Britain.
As the merchant had been telling his stories round the fire, the Devon night had slipped towards dawn. As the sky to the east lit up the English soldiers could hear the faint Norse battle cries floating in on the wind. They knew this was their last stand, their last chance for an independent England, but they also knew deep in their hearts the outcome of the days battle ahead.
In the Norse lands morale was high and the warriors were working themselves up into a bloodthirsty frenzy. Thorgir stood tall at the front of his lines and urged his warriors onwards. As the catapult batteries bombarded the English camp the berserkers rushed onwards into the hail of arrows. It wasnt long before the resistance crumbled and the Vikings were victorious! All of Britain was now theirs, and Elizabeth was banished to her Irish holdings, in exchange for all her Kingdoms artistic endeavours.