Aed, Circenn, and the Sea [Circenn Narrative]

[DreamKing]

Table of Contents

King Aed Summer's Call to Arms Home Unexpected Visitors Other Forces Athfochla Dun Blann Scoan Under Siege Death Tramples the North The Invasion King Anund's Mercy The Siege That Wasn't He Knew His Men Knew it, Too Shadow of Fortune Liberation Famine and Surrender Ruarcc's Crisis Rage and Laughter The Fall of the North The Governor Who Had Had Enough Tuathal's Welcome Dead Brother Mael Tuathal's War King Sigurd's Folly The Birth of a Prince There's No Faster Horse Than Tuathal's Green Soldiers and Red Blood Sudreyar Rises War Burns Winter Mael Snechta Breaks Brechin The Might of Kings Circenn The Lost Chapter: Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five Part Six

King Aed

Scoan had lost the Stone of Destiny, and with it most of their ancestral land. Most presumed the misfortunes linked. Sorrows begot sorrows in turn, and the Vikings came crashing into Brittania’s shores. Circenn drove them back into the sea, but at a great cost to the people.

King Aed rose to uplift his subjects’ sword arms. Alba was ripe for the taking in the King’s clear eyes. A unified Scotland lay in the exiles’ grasp. He only needed men to fight for it.

Uguire refused his lord’s call, and such a precedent would not stand. Both the men’s intentions clear, they gathered their soldiers and brothers. The King found the outlaw band on the road to Abberdeon.

His captain blew the warhorn and the archers rushed forward, taking aim at the startled fugitives. Aed drew his blade and thrust it into the sky. His followers cheered and followed suit.

Uguire ordered his few bannermen into position to withstand the King’s charge. His bowmen fumbled their arrows and his spearmen held out their staffs at different lengths. Uguire himself drew his riders beside him and took the road.

Aed’s archers let their missiles fly, arcing under the sun and burying themselves into the chests of archers and unlucky spearmen. The King spurred his horse’s flanks, tearing into the road with his followers behind them with a roar so ferocious it shook the Earth under their feet.

Aed led the wave that crashed steed into steed and steel into steel. The King slashed his way past the tide of enemies and found himself before his quarry. Uguire eyed him and spat onto the torn up soil. The King shouted and his horse carried him past the speeding Uguire. The rebel missed the King and discovered his insolence did not render him rights but a sword thrust through his neck.

[DreamKing]

​Summer's Call to Arms

Summer came, and with it; conflict.



A rider bearing a call-to-arms arrived at General Alpin’s compound in the middle of the night. King Domnall of Fortriu in the north evoked the pledge of protection the two kingdoms swore to each other. The salt soaked petty kingdom of Orkneyar had decided to try its luck against the weaker kingdom to the south.



Alpin assembled his Protectors of the North and dispatched his own messenger to King Aed. The steely young general had inherited his vanguard from his father, a hero of the war against the Sea Kings. He had learnt everything his father had to offer, most paramount the institution of duty. He cared not for glory a king could exalt himself in, but for his responsibility to safeguard the northern realms of Circenn.

[Alwyn]

Welcome to TWC and the Writers' Study! I'm enjoying your AAR, you've got me wondering what Alpin will do to protect Circenn.

If you have questions about AAR writing, you can ask questions on the chat thread in the Writers' Lounge (or start a thread there if you prefer). You might also find useful information in the Critic's Quill, for example Writing a First AAR: Ten things you can do and Dodging Bullets: overcoming problems when writing AARs. If you have questions about how TWC works, there's the Questions & Suggestions forum where you can find Shankbot's Unofficial Guide for New Members.

[DreamKing]

Welcome to TWC and the Writers' Study! I'm enjoying your AAR, you've got me wondering what Alpin will do to protect Circenn.

If you have questions about AAR writing, you can ask questions on the chat thread in the Writers' Lounge (or start a thread there if you prefer). You might also find useful information in the Critic's Quill, for example Writing a First AAR: Ten things you can do and Dodging Bullets: overcoming problems when writing AARs. If you have questions about how TWC works, there's the Questions & Suggestions forum where you can find Shankbot's Unofficial Guide for New Members.

Ah thank you for these resources. I will take a look at them later today before I post the next part. I'm aware its not much to look at aside from being pretty short so far. I presume there's presentation tips in there and I look forward to learning about them. Thanks for reading.

******
Unexpected Visitors

King Aed received two visitors, both unexpected.

The first came early in the morning, with a sense of urgency few could muster naturally in the chilly spring air. The King himself met the excited messenger at the gates. He prattled off a great deal, as many were want to do in the King’s presence.

He paid it no mind and read the scroll carefully. The messenger just watched him, likely an illiterate Scot himself. The King mumbled to himself upon consuming the burdening document. He motioned for his Chamberlain to come near and passed him the message.

His officer exclaimed in surprise when he finished reading. He asked the King what he would decide to do. Without another moment to consider it, the King ordered his bannermen to take up their arms to march into Fortriu in their time of need. The rider jumped and saluted his liege before mounting his horse and setting out to spread the word.

The second unexpected caller managed to infiltrate the keep of Abberdeon and make himself as welcome as any of those invited to the King’s dinner table. King Aed had invited all his Chiefs of government to discuss strategy for the new war effort and there was this shriveled old man sitting almost beside the King himself.

All his officers scrutinized the oblivious elder munch idly on his bread, trying to figure out why he was among them. Aed arrived last and after the food was blessed, he took his seat none the wiser until he realized none of his men were talking.

He looked up and saw his men’s eyes shift from him to the old man. He sat up and swallowed his last bite as he prepared to confront the clueless trespasser. Before the King could speak, the old man’s mouth fell open and a stream of words both lyrical and dead wafted through the King’s ears and out into the dining hall.

The Stone of Destiny had resurfaced. In that age of fate, and loss, it had decided the time was right. Circenn had not achieved its destiny, however, and the Stone would not return to its rightful place unless King Aed and Brittania’s refused seized it.

The Stone lay in the harbor of Gallgoidel, a remnant Sea Kingdom. Aed saw his future through the unfurling curtains of the future. Circenn has everything to gain if he could lead it there through the wars he and his allies would have to fight to secure the destiny of Scotland.

Aed dismissed the man to be interviewed by his priests and scribes. The men were dumbfounded by his prophecy, and humbly ate their fill while their liege steepled his fingers and planned his country’s future on an empty stomach.

[DreamKing]

Athfochla

Another message arrived shortly after the feast and another enemy was made between Circenn and Fortriu’s alliance. Formerly friend to both kingdoms, Athfochla felt oppressed by Fortriu’s borders, and struck against them whilst their back was turned.

Aed has no choice but to defend his brother king, lest they be lost to an enemy on both sides. He sent warnings to his troops and governors to the south to be prepared for incursions from the west.

His Chamberlain fretted over fighting two wars at once while their land was just recovering but Aed believed it to be the path to Alba’s heart; the Stone of Destiny. Once Athfochla was conquered, Circenn would be that much closer to the Stone laying at the bottom of the harbor

[DreamKing]

Scoan Under Siege

King Aed had just arrived in Rinnin to organize the bands of the Northern Protectors when he got word of the surprise attack on Scoan. Cold anger pooled within the King’s mind at the thought of the Queen and his son in danger of an Athfochlan siege.

The King had no choice but to commit to his army’s excursion into Orkneyar, for the Winter snows would prevent him from getting anywhere near Scoan. General Alpin’s ironclad demeanor did not manage to fortify his confidence in the southern realms’ state of unreadiness.

The King was right to be worried. Snow banks piled high upon the roads. The soldiers in the winter camp trained and practiced the fury they would inflict upon their enemy. Alpin tolerated nothing but the highest standard in his camp while the King was present.

[Welsh Dragon]

Hi Dreamking, welcome to TWC and the Writers Circle.

You're definitely off to a promising start, with an intriguing title, a prophecy and a quest. That first paragraph really sets the scene, of a once great kingdom fallen on hard times, as "sorrows begot sorrows" and "the Vikings came crashing into Britannia's shores." Very atmospheric!

As a reader I'm also already getting a sense of who Aed is as a leader (he seems both cautious and decisive, taking the time to read and consider the messengers scroll, but wasting no time in issuing orders once his decision is made,) as well as the many challenges he and the people of Circenn are facing. It definitely doesn't look like uniting Alba will be easy, which makes for a great story.

I'm also enjoying the way you're weaving game mechanics into your plot, in this case one of Circenn's faction traits. In sandbox games like Total War it can be tricky to build a plotline out of your actions as a player, so using the quest for the Stone of Destiny like this is a great way to give your story some structure, while also dealing with the many and varied things that may happen in a typical campaign.

In your comments you mention presentation. One useful method is to use part of the first post of an AAR thread to give an overview of the story and a chapter list. When combined with numbered and/or named chapters, it allows a reader to easily pick up where they left off, especially if each entry in the list is also a link to that specific chapter. (For examples, see the first posts of my "Toutatis Favours the Brave" and Alwyn's "New Town," linked from our signatures.) I understand that's not an option at the moment as you can't edit posts, but just something to consider.

Also, just to add to Alwyn's article recommendations, if you're thinking of perhaps including screenshots, artwork or maps in your story at some point, Alwyn's "Screenshots and Maps in AARs: A Beginner's Guide" is a very useful resource.

I look forward to seeing where your story goes next, and once again welcome to the community.

All the Best,

Welsh Dragon.

[DreamKing]

Thanks, Welsh. Your word means alot to me. I will definitely make use of a table of contents and name these from now on/when I can edit. In truth, I don't know what obtaining the Stone actually gives you but I''m very excited to find out now that I've tied it into this tale.

[Turkafinwë]

Welcome to the Writers' Study DreamKing!

I wholeheartedly agree with Welsh Dragon, you're off to a promising start and I too am interested to see where your tale goes with this mysterious Stone of Destiny.

[DreamKing]

The Invasion

Down south, at the bottom of Circenn territory, tireless Athfochlan invaders poured over the border. Though disarrayed, they were numerous and set on blockading the road to Scoan. Their king, Giric, had marched the army over himself.

The man in charge of Scoan’s defense was General Rigan, an old soldier that came into his position through seniority rather than skill. Miraculously, his request for reinforcement had slipped through Giric’s fingers and reached Dun Eachainn safely.

General Ruarcc was on his way with a skeleton unit of ranged troops to harass the siege from afar. Ruarcc was a far better soldier than Rigan, being a young man in his prime, but time was not on the defender’s side. The meager force under Rigan’s command stared down the invaders as time ran down.

[DreamKing]

Whoops, wrong title on that last one. Just consider it a spoiler for the next one.

[DreamKing]

The Siege that Wasn't


The Queen, Cainnech, clutched the Prince and heir, Causantín, to her chest before the window overlooking the capital. The castle was as deserted as it had ever been; every able bodied soldier needed for the city’s defense.
Her heart yearned for her husband and his might. She knew she should feel furious with him for being absent in her time of need - the people’s time of need - but she could only wish he was there.
And the next morning, the army was gone.

[Caillagh de Bodemloze]

Well, that's intriguing...

(Hi, DreamKing. I'm going to say the same thing as everyone else: I'm enjoying this! )

[DreamKing]

Thanks to everyone for the greetings. I'm happy more people are reading it and I hope you all stay and read on to see what happens next! I just played another session and I gotta say, damn! Things are twisting and turning and burning.

[DreamKing]

Shadow of Fortune

Fortune shone on Scoan and cast a dark shadow on General Ruarcc. The mass of Giric’s troops stretched down the road before him. Arrows flew harmlessly into the no man’s land between them to sow doubt in the Circenn few’s hearts.

Ruarcc had no choice but to flee. His men ran until they reached the forest bordering the coast. His men’s arms nocked their arrows ready to fire for almost an hour. No Athfochlan raiders followed, however. Ruarcc sent out a scout who returned shortly after, disheartened with his report of a subjugated Dun Eachainn. Ruarcc fell to his knees after hours of flight and prayed for a miracle.


His king prayed for one the same. The snow didn’t let up, and though Aed was a man with a picture of the future in his mind, the strain of his family’s jeopardy weighed heavily upon his patience. At first thaw, he drove his men down the long road to Scoan.


Fate would not wait for the King. The liberation of the southern realm would be settled in the spring.

[DreamKing]

Liberation

Rigan gathered his troops and met Ruarcc on the last stretch of road before Dun Eachainn. The beleaguered men compared their strains and the generals cooperated on a plan of action. Both agreed the king of Athfochla was a hasty man. He saw Ruarcc’s band as easy picking and took off like a hound after him.

The combined force took stock of their arrows and stakes were set at varying distances as fall-back positions. If the men of Circenn could get the invaders where they wanted them, they just might be able to free the southland in one fell move.

Giric did not disappoint the underdog generals’ expectations, nor did he make them wait long.

The two generals split their small groups of men into missile and infantry. The bowmen and crossbowmen crouched amongst the stands of trees on either side of the road while the sword and axemen served as bait and vanguard on the road.

It was impossible for Giric not to see through the trap but his recklessness would drive him to smash his forces against what he would be certain was a minuscule army. Rigan and his followers waited on the plain west of the battlefield to strike at the enemy when their backs were exposed. Ruarcc took his cavalry to the eastern stand of trees to oversee his archers.

Giric’s spearmen marched imperiously over the hill and straight toward the hundred infantry troops mustered to liberate Dun Eachainn. Giric followed behind on his heavy cavalry, wholly confident in his troops’ capacity for savagery.

The Saint’s Champions and the Swift Eagles gripped their shields tighter together as the Mountain’s Strength bore down on them. They did not waver as their charge began, rattling the earth beneath their feet and shaking the leaves from the trees.

Ruarcc gave the cry and his archers let loose their arrows and bolts. The spearmen’s flanks were riddled with missiles and they cried out in anguish and surprise, raising their shields too late to defend their broken brothers. Giric saw his front start to crumble and ordered his axe bearers into the trees to flush out the archers.

Ruarcc set his cavalry to trample the charging soldiers before they could reach the treeline. Their eyes bulged in terror, unable to even blink before steaming horses drove straight through their ranks. The spearmen faltered on their charge toward the emboldened Circenn liberators.

Spears shot out through vulnerable points in the mass of spearmen. Axes tore through shields and shocked men back behind their comrades. Giric whipped his mount forward in a rage seeing his men fall.

Rigan saw the heavy cavalry tear toward the writhing mass of warriors. He spurred his men to intercept. His horses were not as fleet or fit as Giric’s royal stock but the old soldier knew the battle was bigger than him. He drove his steed between Giric and the infantry captain.

His horse was caught under Giric’s horse’s long limbs, throwing them both from the saddle and downing both of the beasts. Giric cut his way out from under his horse’s legs and roared with unrestrained fury. The poor creature’s shriek was drowned out by his master’s savage scream. Rigan pushed himself onto his feet and readied his sword.

Giric closed the distance in three massive strides, his blade held high over his head. Rigan swung his sword against the fuming King’s to break the force of the blow. Giric brought the blade down anyway, though much less effectively due to Rigan’s intervention.

The old man panted and raised his sword once again. King Giric leered sardonically at his opponent, reading the enthusiasm in the weathered soldier. He twirled his sword around himself and thrust wildly to throw him off.

Rigan backed away and swung his sword to deflect the odd thrusts. He was unable to establish a defense, and knew Giric could get the better of him. He threw his helmet down, for it put pressure on his skull and he didn’t think it’d do him any good. This pleased, Giric who only wore the onyx crown of wartime atop his head.

Rigan dashed forward, aiming to skewer the King through his breast. Giric parried the strike and threw the weary general into the grass. He waited for him to struggle to his knees before he thrust his sword through Rigan’s heart.

Rigan sputtered and fell back with a ghostly groan, dead before his sparsely haired head touched Alba’s soil.

Giric looked up from his victory to witness his men flee from him. Men threw down their axes as they rushed past him. He watched them flee, dumb with disbelief. The cry of victory was let into the sky by the exhausted Champions.

Giric took a step forward, one last step terminated by arrow after arrow piercing his body and dropping him onto the bloody battlefield beside the slain general.

Ruarcc stooped down beside his counterpart and removed his own cracked helmet in reverence. He felt honored to have served beside the renowned general. Many had panned the old man, but he had observed the old sense of loyalty and service lived out by the man in every action he took. He left the safety of Scoan behind with hardly any soldiers to pursue the raiding King Giric.

The southern realms were free of invaders, but the King was still on the road and enemies of the Eastern Alliance of Fortriu and Circenn rose from every shadow Alba cast.

[DreamKing]

Famine and Surrender

The enemies of Circenn did not only include rival kingdoms. Famine starved soldiers as they marched away from their farms. They dropped their spades at a clan leader’s behest and unearthed their swords from the cellar to follow him west, toward war. They stroked their son’s heads and kissed their lasses goodbye, bidding them to do whatever they could to keep the farm running.

Ruarcc was one of those men. He left his wife behind in Abberdeon and found himself as far south as he’d ever been.

Winter had just broken and he saw his opportunity to go on the offensive and fill his men’s stomachs with Athfochlan fare. His starving, bruised soldiers marched along the river upstream toward Dun Duirn.

The small mountain town had known little about the wars burning out of control throughout the heart of Scotland. The men whose livelihood lie buried in the Earth cared little for the desires of their overly ambitious brothers’ hunger for land. Ruarcc’s tired band had not even stepped foot in the city when the Chieftain’s messenger presented him a rusty sword as a symbol of surrender.

People greeted Ruarcc and his men politely but seemed preoccupied with their chores to pay them much mind. It took the befuddled General an hour to find the man in charge, deep in the town mine and hard at work. He seemed to have already forgotten he had handed over the town by his vague recognition of Ruarcc and why he was distracting him from his work. Ruarcc quickly realized there was nothing to debate with the man; the town was truly his.

He left the smoldering Earth and emerged more bewildered than he entered but grateful nonetheless. He granted his men leave on the town and settled into the Meeting House for a long overdue rest.

[DreamKing]

Last night I finished transcribing my notebook to docs so I'm up to date and all set to publish what I've got so far. Only a few more entries until this has caught up to the story so far.

[Alwyn]

Describing famine as one of the enemies of Circenn is a nice detail and I can see how this would motivate Ruarcc and his men to explore new lands in search of food. I wonder if Ruarcc will get the rest he expects to have or if something unexpected will happen.

While it can be satisfying to publish all of the entries you've written, you might want to hold a few back and publish them later. It's up to you, of course, it's your AAR. There are two reasons why I'm suggesting this. One is that it takes time to build up a readership, posting one update a week over a longer period can attract more readers than posting more updates in a short time. Another reason is that, if you have some unpublished updates, it can be easier to add new plotlines and characters. For example, if you have a brilliant idea for a new character when you're writing chapter 8, but realise that they should appear briefly in chapter 6 (as well as chapter 8) because they would be involved with the events described there, this is easier to do if you haven't published chapter 6 yet.

[DreamKing]

Describing famine as one of the enemies of Circenn is a nice detail and I can see how this would motivate Ruarcc and his men to explore new lands in search of food. I wonder if Ruarcc will get the rest he expects to have or if something unexpected will happen.

While it can be satisfying to publish all of the entries you've written, you might want to hold a few back and publish them later. It's up to you, of course, it's your AAR. There are two reasons why I'm suggesting this. One is that it takes time to build up a readership, posting one update a week over a longer period can attract more readers than posting more updates in a short time. Another reason is that, if you have some unpublished updates, it can be easier to add new plotlines and characters. For example, if you have a brilliant idea for a new character when you're writing chapter 8, but realise that they should appear briefly in chapter 6 (as well as chapter 8) because they would be involved with the events described there, this is easier to do if you haven't published chapter 6 yet.

That is a good idea, the latter one. My intention was to be consistent and prove I'm committed to telling this story and I think I have. Having that room to work with and manipulate sounds good so I will forgo today's update and post it in a few days instead. Thanks for the feedback, as well. I am a Medieval 2 guy so this food and attrition mechanic is tough but I had to include it in the story with all the trouble it gave me in game.