It is the modern state of England, descendants of the Norman legacy, that is in a position to assert its authority over the entirety of the Isles. Yet, while the goal seems so close, it is truly still far away. The Welsh are lead by a new uniting upstart who is more than happy to contest England's superiority. Ireland, an almost secure English haven, has united under one King and become a true royal thorn in the side of the English command there. The Scots have never looked upon England as a superior power, and there's even upstarts from Scandinavia stirring up trouble. Was that enough? No, of course not. Now there's a band of Barons demanding the limitation of the King's power, and it won't be long before they start to cause trouble. England has a choice - work with the Barons and keep peace, if only for a little while, or mercilessly assail them until they howl their adoration and loyalty to the feet of the King. Fighting them is costly, and serves only to weaken them. Unity is advisable, at least for now. But letting them continue could be considered a sign of weakness, and their demands can only get worse. This is all while the Welsh want their taste of English territory, the Irish want their homes back, the Scots seek greater power and the Norwegian pests continue their antics... The Baron's Alliance is in a unique state for being the first true front against the English Crown. They stand for the People of England, the Law, blah blah blah. Truth is, they stand to drag the King down and bring up their own power in its place, and for once, they have the unity and means to have a shot at it. Yet there are many enemies around, many places loyal to the king, and other nations are quite likely to use the chaos of any open combat to tear into the English provinces. Thus, it is in the best interests of the Barons to declare their status as being a solid force, and then make further declarations to see how far the King can be tested. For now, they will likely wait, even act on the King's behalf for some task or another. But they cannot be held back forever... Wales, a place in dire straits for some time now, has been momentarily relieved by the potential issues of the Baron's Alliance and other issues across the English territory. The time is now, not long after the official declaration of independence from Wales, to secure a legacy and show the English who the true masters are. From there... what then? Will they strike at the Scots? Will they help liberate the Irish, or conquer them? Will they engage in combat with the Norwegian newcomers? Perhaps they will make alliances with some of these nations, or be conquered by them? Perhaps they will see the merits of aiding the Barons, or offering to aid against the Barons in exchange for a temporary respite? Time will tell, as well as the first moves of the newly united Welsh state... it is these first moves, and early pacts, that will determine their future... Ireland has been a scattered, ineffective territory - until now. Now, Ireland is in a position to become possibly a real country, a place of its own again, and this time with the strength of character that can only come from the true backbone of a king. The Irish must first deal with the English invaders, but from there, they have possible issues with the raids of the Norwegians, or even the Scots, or perhaps even the Welsh. Or perhaps England will quickly get over its squabbles and send a far greater force across the small sea to ensure Ireland stays "in its place". A king to unite the Irish brings opportunities, but it also brings problems and gambles, as well as hard decisions to be made... Scotland, a proud, old land where independence is key and where southern traditions and sophistication are simply unnecessary. That was then, at least. Now, England is a potent enemy, capable of being a true threat to the Scots should it settle its problems quickly and strike to the north. Now, the Norwegians have established a foothold to the north, and the first clear target is Scotland. If the Scots can defeat them quickly or convince them to move elsewhere for the time being is the question at the moment. Scotland will need to become united in order to face the possible issues of expansionist factions in the British Isles that are bent on being the greatest faction on the Isles. If Scotland can get its own borders in order, perhaps Scotland will be in a good position to emerge as a power to rival the traditionally powerful English... perhaps, they'll be able to do much better than just raid a few border towns... The Norwegian presence is small, and honestly, the glory days of taking the Isles ended many years ago. However, the King has decided that a change is in order - it is ripe time to take advantage of the issues and wars looming on the Isles to create a new territory, a place where colonies can form and last many more years than the colonies of the past. It will not be an easy task - the people of the Isles are no strangers to war, and will likely not take kindly to the interjection of old invaders. Still, perhaps pacts can be made, short term as they may be. They may take the geographically convenient route, and harass the Scots. Perhaps they can help tear the English down... or align with the English and put down the upstart other factions. Perhaps they can cause trouble in every theater, keeping everyone weak, so they can be handled piecemeal. Such actions would take considerable cunning from the Norwegian lords. The lack of knowing what the Norwegians are about to do can be considered one of their strengths, yet that position makes it difficult for them to trust anyone, let alone for anyone to trust them...