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Thread: [IB AAR] Severus The God

  1. #161
    Juvenal's Avatar love your noggin
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    Default Re: [IB AAR] Severus The God

    Quote Originally Posted by Selifator View Post
    may be in the offering. I'll assume that that is what you meant. Unless you speak English that I don't know.
    No, I really did mean it as written. Perhaps the phrase has fallen out of use in modern times.

    http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/in-the-offing.html
    In the Offing

    Meaning
    Imminent; likely to happen soon.
    Origin
    This is one of the many phrases of nautical origin. It is quite simple to understand once you know that 'the offing' is the part of the sea that can be seen from land, excluding those parts that are near the shore. Early texts also refer to it as 'offen' or 'offin'.
    Someone who was watching out for a ship to arrive would first see it approaching when it was 'in the offing' and expected to dock before the next tide. Something that is 'in the offing' isn't happening now or even in a minute or two, but will inevitably happen before too long. The phrase has migrated from its naval origin into general use in the language and is now used to describe any event that is imminent.
    Last edited by Juvenal; March 25, 2009 at 02:03 PM.
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  2. #162
    Junius's Avatar Domesticus
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    Default Re: [IB AAR] Severus The God

    I understood it . Maybe I am an old coot, but I don't feel like one.

    Love the story, Juvenal, and I have to admit I stole your style of captioning screen caps. Thanks.

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  3. #163

    Default Re: [IB AAR] Severus The God

    My mistake! I haven't heard of that expression before, though I'm not even familiar with dutch nautical language, so that's not a surprise.
    Every time you :wub:, god kills another kitten.
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  4. #164
    Entropy Judge's Avatar Vicarius
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    Default Re: [IB AAR] Severus The God

    I've heard it before - it's been quite a while, though, and I can't actually recall the last place I saw it (probably a Mercedes Lackey or Roger Zelazny book, though). You just don't hear it any more.
    I beat back their first attack with ease. Properly employed, E's can be very deadly, deadlier even than P's and Z's, though they're not as lethal as Paula Abdul or Right Said Fred.
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  5. #165
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    Default Re: [IB AAR] Severus The God

    Bump Bumpity bump bump, bump bump.... Update please

  6. #166

    Default Re: [IB AAR] Severus The God

    I agree heartily. Tell us of the fate of Gaul!

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  7. #167
    Juvenal's Avatar love your noggin
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    Default Re: [IB AAR] Severus The God

    OK, folks, I have been neglecting this owing to a little trouble with the Mongols in my M2TW Russian campaign (I thought that with Empire being released it was time I started playing M2TW in earnest).

    There shall be a new episode this weekend (fingers crossed).

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  8. #168
    SeniorBatavianHorse's Avatar Tribunus Vacans
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    Default Re: [IB AAR] Severus The God

    Looking for ward to it, Juvenal! Hmm, Mongols, eh? Any screenshots?

  9. #169
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    Default Re: [IB AAR] Severus The God


    XIII: KEYNE


    “Se judice, nemo nocens absolvitur”
    (By his own verdict no guilty man was ever acquitted)
    Juvenal



    The Uprising
    Viewed from Gaul, where the Pictish holdings were constantly under threat, Britannia looked to be a calm, uniform and orderly place. But in actual fact it was still a patchwork of disparate peoples and cultures, linked only by fealty to Drest, and the administrative corps of Severus. Under Drest the realm was Greater Pictavia in name only as the ascendency of the Gaels was enforced. Also, thanks to Severus, just three Celtic gods had been selected from the multitude for official approval.

    Across Caledonia, only the cult of Cocidius, God of Hunstmen, was permitted in public (except for the Wildmen in Fortriu who worshipped Goibhniu the Smith God). Christianity and the old Pictish gods were suppressed.

    The true Picts (the Dal Riata being a mongrel tribe) had been quiet for a long time, defeated by Drest in battle and soothed by the efforts of Severus to share the wealth of the new nation with them. But now that Drest and Severus were in Gaul, they were suffering under the inept rule of Drest's brother Fotla, King of Caledonia.

    Finally, a point of crisis was reached and the Picts erupted into open rebellion. Fotla sought advice from Keyne, his mother:
    “What should I do? All the good warriors have been sent to Gaul.”

    “You must raise the Levy” she replied.

    “Yes, but it is only effective if the rebels stand and fight. They will just scatter and wait until I am forced to let my men return to the harvest.”

    “In that case, we shall have to persuade them to face us”.

    The Levy was raised, and Fotla led a portion of it out into the mountains where the army of Cailtram White-Hero threatened the heartland of the Dal Riata.



    As Keyne had predicted, the enemy had no qualms about facing Fotla's small force, their lookouts had seen him toiling up from the coastal lowlands and clearly they felt they had the measure of him.

    He timed his march carefully to reach the enemy too late for battle that day, and both sides camped warily within a mile of each other. But as dawn broke the following morning, the rebels were astonished to discover a second army facing them. Keyne had brought the remaining Levy, and some elites intended for Gaul, up the mountain during the night, and now their combined force was more than enough to assure victory.



    But instead of attacking, Keyne and Fotla called a parley. They met with Cailtram between the armies, who didn't wait for formalities, speaking as soon as the two parties halted facing each other:

    “We will not surrender! We cannot accept the gods you force upon us. When we are dead, others will come to take our places.”

    It was Keyne, rather than Fotla who replied:
    “We are not your enemies, the High King is distracted, but I have his ear. He can be persuaded to restore the rights of the Picts and I need not choose to take note of your religious practices, provided that they are not conducted in Dal Riada”.

    Cailtram was unconvinced:
    “You are the widow of our enemy Angus, and mother of our conqueror Drest, why are you not in accord with them?”

    “Drest is King from sea to sea, if his rule here seems harsh, it is because he cannot spare the time to pick the trustworthy from the traitors, and so we are all treated like naughty children and subjected to the same impersonal rules and edicts. Now that he is in Gaul, it is time for us to take some of his burden from him so that Caledonia can be governed in a more fair and equitable manner. You may keep your army if you will agree to keep it here for the present, we will even give you provisions. We will find a way to change things so that your tribe are partners in this realm instead of pariahs.”

    There was much more talking before Cailtram was brought around, but Keyne's authority and her calm assurance eventually won the day, and the armies were able to part without bloodshed.

    The needed reforms that would bring Cailtram's Picts back into the trust of the realm were hampered by the fact that the administrative corps was controlled from Eboracum, owing its loyalty to some complex mixture of Taran, King of Britannia, and Severus, who actually controlled it.

    Keyne thought long on the subject, and eventually concluded that a meeting with Taran was needed to persuade him to come into line. Not wanting Drest to know until the family had reached a consensus, Keyne sent an agent, Ce Morbet, to contact her son Taran and arrange the meeting.

    The Burden of Kingship
    Drest, High King of Britannia, Caledonia and Hibernia, and Protector of Gaul, was troubled. He sat at a veranda of the pro-consul's palace in Hatomagus while taking a light meal alone, and surveyed the activity in the plaza below.

    His bodyguards took care to remain out of direct sight, as this irritated Drest and increased his sense of claustrophobia. But he knew they were never far away and their sense of nervousness was almost palpable, perhaps due to several attempted assassinations in recent months.

    Drest was interrupted by his Guard Commander, Nechtan. Concealing his anger at being disturbed, he bid Nechtan speak.

    “Your agent Ce Morbet has arrived from Britannia with important information sire.”

    There was clearly no escape from matters of state, Drest wearily signalled for Morbet to be brought to the balcony, where the sound of activity in the plaza would prevent them being overheard. But as he heard the report, Drest's weariness gave way to shock and then a grim cold anger. He gave instructions to Ce Morbet in a clipped, forceful tone, and dismissed him. Beckoning to Nechtan he said:

    “I will accept no more visitors today, tell the merchants' council to come tomorrow. I am retiring to my chambers, disturb me at you peril.”

    A Family Tragedy
    The meeting with Taran had been difficult, he was a nervous and impetuous man, much given to sudden impulses. He resented his brother Fotla, especially now that Fotla appeared able to rule freely in Caledonia while Taran's every step was frustrated by the schemes of Severus, even from far away Gaul.

    But in the end, Keyne's authority brought him around, together with the promise that he would be able rule alone in Britannia once the rest of the family had formed a bloc to balance the absolutism of Drest. With Drest constrained, Severus would also lose influence and might be returned to the role of glorified clerk that was all he deserved.

    The return journey from Eboracum was almost over, and Keyne's party had stopped at the hall of an old retainer. Despite her tiredness, Keyne found herself still awake in her bedchamber, mind racing with all of the possibilities of the future, and how she might deal with each eventuality.

    There was a small sound behind her, and she turned quickly to face it. A man stood in the shadows by the window. She glanced to the table where her knife lay, it was too far. She tried to distract him:
    “I suppose you have a message from my son, it was rude of him not to bring it in person, perhaps I can offer you refreshment from your journey...”

    She moved toward the table, where a jug and cup also rested, but the man was not taken in, he stepped quickly forward, picking up a cushion with a fluid motion and pushed her roughly back onto the bed.

    Although weak with age, she still had her skills, and as she fell she was able to gouge his eye. She felt him stiffen with pain, but he didn't stop, and she felt the crushing weight of his knee on her chest as he pushed the cushion over her face with his full strength.

    She could not move, she could not breath, in her youth she might have found a way out, but now there was nothing that could be done. The pain in her chest reached a crescendo and then began to fade as a dark curtain drew across her vision. Her last thought was that this was all such a waste, men were not suited to rule, they were stupid and childish and they sought to dominate others only because they could not understand them.


    Aftermath
    The death of Keyne ended any cooperation that might have grown between Taran and Fotla. The administrators of Severus soon discovered that Fotla was claiming for the support of the Levy after it had been disbanded, and terminated his funding. Cailtram and his army withdrew further into the mountains when they heard that more professional soldiers had been diverted from Gaul to stiffen the garrison at Dal Riada.

    When Drest received the news of his mother's death, he went into seclusion for a full week, taking only water and wheatcakes and speaking to no-one.


    The following month, Severus received a visitor at the port of Juliobona. It was Ce Morbet, newly arrived with his friend Galam Diuperr on ships carrying fresh warriors for the campaign in Gaul. Ce came alone, leaving Galam at the barracks to recover from his sea-sickness, and rest his injured eye. Severus congratulated Ce on his efforts.

    “You have done well and I am very pleased with you. Much has been accomplished, but there is still more to do here. Drest is finding it difficult to cope with the Christian rebels and while the army is fully employed with keeping order in Hatomagus we are prevented from expanding our presence in Gaul. I have recently discovered that they are being supported by the Saxons, so I think we need to address the problem from that direction.”
    Last edited by Juvenal; April 10, 2009 at 08:07 AM.
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  10. #170
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    Default Re: [IB AAR] Severus The God

    Haven't replied here in a long time.... Nice updates as usually I wonder how Drest will mourn his mother's loss. Will he go mentally furious or something else
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  11. #171
    Edward lV's Avatar Campidoctor
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    Default Re: [IB AAR] Severus The God

    The wait is over! Thank you Juvenal.

  12. #172
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    Default Re: [IB AAR] Severus The God

    It has been long since I commented here, well done Juvenal. Btw, Keyne, rest in peace.

  13. #173

    Default Re: [IB AAR] Severus The God

    Great. Nicely dealt-with treachery at home.

    Did you bribe him?

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  14. #174
    bomberboy's Avatar Domesticus
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    Default Re: [IB AAR] Severus The God

    Good update.
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  15. #175
    Juvenal's Avatar love your noggin
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    Default Re: [IB AAR] Severus The God

    Thank you everyone for posting.

    I hope it is obvious from the text above that Ce Morbet is secretly loyal to Severus, but that the actual order to kill Keyne came from her son Drest (after Severus had Ce Morbet exaggerate his report to implicate Keyne in treason).

    Anyway, there is another episode arriving very soon, no battles yet I am afraid, but there are a couple more murders.
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  16. #176

    Default Re: [IB AAR] Severus The God

    Quote Originally Posted by Juvenal View Post
    Anyway, there is another episode arriving very soon, no battles yet I am afraid, but there are a couple more murders.
    I'm fine with murders instead of battles

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  17. #177
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    Default Re: [IB AAR] Severus The God

    Quote Originally Posted by Lysimachos View Post
    I'm fine with murders instead of battles
    me 2
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  18. #178
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    Default Re: [IB AAR] Severus The God

    As long as it doesn't turn into the Scottish Play I'm good. [Dramatic Thunder]
    I beat back their first attack with ease. Properly employed, E's can be very deadly, deadlier even than P's and Z's, though they're not as lethal as Paula Abdul or Right Said Fred.
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  19. #179
    Juvenal's Avatar love your noggin
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    Default Re: [IB AAR] Severus The God

    XIV: A MATTER OF FAITH

    “Voluptates commendat rarior usus”
    (Rare indulgence produces greater pleasure)
    Juvenal



    Two Interviews
    In Hatomagus, the morning sun was obscured by a pall of smoke coming from the burning grain storehouses which had been recently filled to supply the soldiers assembling for the Avaricum expedition.

    Drest paced his balcony above the plaza. Something had to be done about these damnable Christian rebels. He had tried catching them, but to no avail, and he had tried punishing the locals, who he was sure supported them. But no one seemed to have any good information to offer, even under the extremis of torture. Now he dared not oppress the people further for fear of a general revolt.

    Drest was no longer so concerned about the security of his rule back home. Hibernia was secure under the stewardship of his adopted son Uuredac whose loyalty was guaranteed as long as Drest's army maintained the ascendency of his clan the Mumainha. Britannia itself was now nicely balanced between his brothers Taran and Fotla, unreconcilable again after the death of their mother Keyne. So Gaul was his main problem, somehow the people had to be persuaded to accept his rule.

    Hatomagus was still something of an empty shell. Fully half of the tenements were boarded up and unoccupied after the deportations that followed the conquest. Drest had toyed with the idea of demolishing them, but he knew they would be needed for the town to recover and prosper once these problems of insurrection and disloyalty were solved. In any case, things might be looking up, Galius Sulpicius, emissary of Constantine III, had recently endorsed the local alliance Drest had concluded with Samarobriva, while inadvertently revealing the weakness of the Imperium Constantini. Ironically, Gaius Fabricus of the Western Roman Empire had separately contacted Cirech to recognise the legitimacy of the Pictish presence in Gaul and to offer a trade agreement.


    Public worship of Cocidius was enforced, but there was no denying that the majority of people were still privately Christian – as Drest was regularly reminded by his spy Brede. He executed Christian rebels every week, but more constantly sprang up to replace them, inspired by the firebrand Bishop Germanus.

    “Do you have anything for me?” he said addressing the figure standing in the gloom at the back of the balcony.

    “Yes, we have discovered that Germanus is supported by the Saxons!” It was Ce Morbet, returned from his duties of rooting out rebellion in Caledonia. “My colleague Galam Diuperr is looking into the affair and I am expecting developments very soon.”

    “You have my full support, there is no more important task at present than the removal of Germanus, the people are already speaking of him as a saint! Go, and bring me back good news!”


    Once Ce Morbet had gone, Drest called for his son Naiton. The boy arrived flustered, clearly interrupted halfway through his ablutions.

    “Good morning son! Don't you think the smoke makes for beautiful colours in the morning light?” he said with a false bonhomie, rather spoiled by the malicious undertone.

    “Oh Father, please don't brand all Christians with the sins of these saboteurs, they are an aberration, if you didn't persecute us so severely, Christians would flock to your side for protection against the Franks and Saxons.”

    “That's as may be, but it isn't the reason I called for you. I have decided you are to lead my armies to the glorious capture of Avaricum!” He gestured ironically to the smoke, saying: “With the grain stores gone, it is imperative that you leave immediately so that your soldiers may be fed by the generosity of the recently-liberated peoples along your line of march.”

    For once Naiton, a young man given to frequent outbursts, could find nothing at all to say, so Drest continued: “I want you to leave today, by all means finish your shave and gather your bodyguard, I will send you further instructions once you are on the road. Off you go boy, time's a wasting!”

    The Clarification of Loyalties
    That evening, as his Mormaer retainers rode out through the River Gate, Naiton went alone to an tavern under the walls. Inside, he met with two men already seated in an unfavoured corner, well away from the light and heat of the open fire.

    “Father has sent me join the new army, I fear he is planning further persecutions. I implore you, leave this town and hide in the countryside, I know the people will protect you, even at risk to their own lives.”

    The older of the two men responded soothingly: “Do not worry my son, God will protect me until my work is done, and after that my life will no longer matter.”

    “But the sabotage! Father will not rest until the perpetrators are caught!”

    “You know we are not responsible for that. Furtuis here will use his Saxon friends to to find out who set the fires so we can persuade them that non-violence is the best way.”

    Naiton looked nervously at Furtuis, but thought better of speaking to him. “I wish I could stay, but I cannot, you must leave too, it would be a tragedy to lose you, the people look to you as a second Father, your presence helps them keep the faith. Please reconsider.”

    With a heavy heart, Naiton left the tavern and rode off to rejoin his troops. As he left, Ce Morbet stepped out of the shadows by the open window where he had been listening. He gestured to a colleague who held his head at an odd angle, like a bird peering at an insect.

    “Well there it is Galam, final proof that the Saxons are behind all this. Let Bishop Germanus leave, I will follow him, you can deal with Furtuis, make sure you get the names of his contacts.”

    A little later, Germanus emerged from the entrance, drew his cloak and cowl around himself to ward off the chill of the evening, and set off on foot into Hatomagus. At the same time, there was the small creak of shutters opening at the rear, and a hooded man climbed silently out through the window. But before he had gone ten paces, two burly figures strode up from behind and restrained him. Galam observed the struggling Saxon with quiet satisfaction.

    “Ah, Furtuis, you and I are going to have a little conversation before you take your leave of this world, you can tell me everything you have been doing in our fair city of Hatomagus. Rest assured that I will be an attentive listener.”


    An Optimistic Outlook
    Another month had passed and Drest's new policy toward the Christians seemed to be bearing fruit. They were still not permitted to worship in public, or display the cross outside their clothing, but private devotions, and even chapels were now tolerated.

    Drest even went so far as to allow a public funeral for Bishop Germanus after his tragic death (said to have resulted from a choking fit). Afterwards, he had sent an emissary with the funeral cortège on its way back to Auxerre, hoping to mend his differences with the Pope. This was not unreasonable because now that the Emperor was looking upon the Picts with favour, the Pope could be expected to fall into line with Imperial policy.


    With luck, this favour would allow Drest to take Avaricum without making any more enemies (apart from the Franks, whom he intended to eradicate in any case). He hoped that Naiton's enthusiasm would transfer into military prowess. But even if it didn't, there were plenty more warriors being trained back in Britannia... and more sons with which to lead them.
    Last edited by Juvenal; May 08, 2009 at 02:42 AM. Reason: titivating
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  20. #180
    bomberboy's Avatar Domesticus
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    Default Re: [IB AAR] Severus The God

    Great although I'd like to know what Naiton was doing with saxons?
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