865 Anno Domini
September 4th (Turn 1)
I am Ęthelred, the new Cyning of Westseaxna rīce.
I've recently succeeded the throne due to the recent death of my elder brother, Ęthelberht, and now must handle the responsibilities and burdens that came with it. The skills I've acquired while under his service as a deputy will no doubt come in handy for the days ahead.
It has been many years after the arrival of my Saxon ancestors on this land, and the heptarchy still stands. Soon I will have opportune chances to do great feats in battle and conquest, as my father did before me... but I fear an early death will leave our lineage on the edge of extinction. The only other eligible heir to inherit the throne is my brother Ęlfrēd, and if he dies...
"Mi'lord." My deep thoughts must have robbed me of my vision as I did not notice the man standing before me.
I give the man my full attention, waiting to hear what message he has to bring. He gives a coy smile and kneels before saying, "Greetings mi'lord, I am your Chancellor. I've served under your brother during his reign and I will gladly do so again under yours."
I beckon him to rise, "I trust this is not the only thing you've come to tell me."
He rises, "No sire, our agents are on standby waiting for your directions." He hands you documents describing the agents and their particular skills in their expertise.
These poor sods lack any true skills, but will no doubt hone on them while performing my tasks. I peer over to the map and found some areas of interest, "The Bard, Eadgils, will travel to the east and remain there until further notice."
"The Diplomat, Waldfrith, will travel north to establish trade and map information with the Celtics. I'd rather have them on good terms to prevent unnecessary bloodshed in the future."
"The Spy, Leofgar, will be posted on the roads between Worceaster and Hamtun to keep an eye on our Mercian neighbors."
"And lastly, the Merchant will be going on in an expedition to the north as well, I've heard there are many profitable goods to claim in the region of Alba."
"We must construct roads and improve the logistics of our lesser towns if we wish to fund the construction of new buildings and our ever-growing armies. Issue the construction of them at Dorcaester, Brycgstow and Reading."
"I have other plans for Wintanceaster and Selsey, a Midden to the former and a Port for the latter should suffice."
"I'll inform the Ealdormen of the respective settlements of your wishes sire, now what of the actions of our military forces? Several settlements to the west and east rebelled following the death of your brother, god rest his soul. Not only that but our diplomats have had no success with signing a peace treaty with the Mercians."
"As for the Mercians..." I sigh at the thought of wasting valuable time and manpower on them, "If those bastards won't listen to words then prehaps steel will be a more convincing method, inform my brother Ęlfrēd to lead an army north and besiege Worceaster. Then we'll see who will be the one pursuing a peace treaty."
"As for the other issue, I will task Ealdorman Odda of Dorcaester and Ealdorman Ęthelwulf of Brycgstow to suppress the revolters, by militaristic means of course."
"What of the rebelling settlements to the east?"
"I will personally lead an army to Kent, however..." I rise from my chair and usher my Chancellor to follow me towards the exit, "We don't have enough manpower to face the rebels now, we'll need a supplement from Wintanceaster. The combined army should be enough to retake the rebelling eastern settlements."
He nods and leaves the room to begin the preparations under my instructions. The outcome of those orders will be crucial in how the realm will view me and while I cannot directly influence the majority of them, I can however make sure the region of Kent will be reintegrated into Wessex.
With that in mind, the new Cyning exits the royal palace and mounts his personal stallion to ride onto the nearby muster field to summon his fyrd for the upcoming battle.
Financial Status
Author's Note
Sorry if this chapter feels a little short, sloppy and lacked any combat, but the next chapter will be more promising.
[TLK AAR] A Wyvern's Roar, The Tale Of West Seaxe | 4/11/2014
. After finishing some college work my schedule is free to work on the AAR as I please at the moment, but if in the future I am not posting any new content for an extended period of time it is most likely because of the former. If I get any historical representations wrong feel free to notify/correct me. Any and all advice will be greatly appreciated.
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