| Mercenaries: AQRs: i7, w6, s6, c7 Troops: 10i, 2xi, 6c, 5s, 5w, 5t Leaders: None |
Mistsuki's research went well, and many new underpinnings of magical knowledge were learned. He also undertook overseeing improvements in the magical capabilities of the government, and laid the groundwork for a series of gatherings where magical knowledge could be shared and tested.
Hikaru returned from Hei-An wiht his army to defend the Emperor and the capital while the emperor continued to oversee the governing of his realm. He had assistance from Takeda in this effort, but sadly Takeda died in 1033. To further aid in governing a great road was began Yamoto to connect Hei-An with Edo. So far the road has already reached the mountainous border with Aichi and progress remains swift. In preaparation for the connection, further improvements were made to both Edo and Hei-An. Much of the emperor's actual time was spent doting on his new great-grandson, Ishida and his new wife's son, born in 1031.
Major investments were also made to the university, and more modest ones to other aspects of the government. As a result, the government grew larger, and gained an increased ability to conduct or protect against multiple espionage attempts.
| Mercenaries: AQRs: i6, w7, s5, c4 Troops: 10i, 1xi, 10w, 10t Leaders: None |
(Hinduism Seafaring Open Empire)
Non Player Nation
Brunei King
Diplomacy:
To counter rising hunger, the fishing fleets were expanded, and efforts to increase cultivation in Sarawak were redoubled. Both of these came at the expense of the military, with ships being decommissoned, and soldiers being released to work the fields. Nevertheless, people went hungry, and while there was no rioting or real dissent, there was a pervading apathy toowards the government and little new was accomplished.
(Oceanic Pagan Seafaring Open Empire)
Open For a Player
Moluccas King
Diplomacy:
After seing to further investments in the government, the king died in 1032. This sparked a civil war as his son was not well loved by the people, nor the military. He did manage to consolidate power with some of the generals though, and crushed the rebellion before it became too serious. Nevertheless, his army was weakened by almost a thousand troops, and several warships were lost as well.
(Hinduism Seafaring Open Empire)
Airlagga
Diplomacy:
Airlagga's mother died, setting off a long period of mourning, for she was popular with everyone. This mourning did not hinder previous investments into government efficiency from bearing fruit and easing the burden on Airlagga and his court.
| Mercenaries: AQRs: i7, w5, s5, c6 Troops: 10i, 5c, 5s, 5w, 5t Leaders: None |
(Hinduism Civilized Open Empire)
Open For a Player
Jayaviravaman
Diplomacy:
Jayavarman V died, making way for his son Jayaviravaman to take the throne, this went as smoothly as such things can go, and kept the focus of the nation on the region of Khemer, where the new king made a great deal of improvements.
(Buddhist Civilized Open Empire)
Open For a Player
Annam King
Diplomacy:
The King's ally, the Prince of Hainan died, but the alliance remained intact. Meanwhile, back at home, the improvements being made in Annam were overshadowed by the gross levels of corruption in the system of tax collection. For now, it would again require much more direct supervision ton ensure such things do not become habit.
(Buddhist Civilized Open Empire)
Open for a Player
Indravarman
Diplomacy:
(Buddhist Civilized Open Empire)
Open for a Player
Champa King
Diplomacy:
Large investments were undertaken in an attempt to begin rebuilding the gutted branches of government that had been purged. But progress was slow, and so much of the king's time involved overseeing the more mundane funtioning of his government.
| Mercenaries: AQRs: i6, w4, s4, c6 Troops: 10i, 5c, 2xc, 5s, 5w, 5t Leaders: None |
(Buddhist Civilized Open Empire)
Sung Emperor
Diplomacy:
It was a time of great changes in the empire. With the death first of Master Hung, and then of the Emperor himself, chaos threatened to overwhelm the still stretched government. Master Tung took the reins of power and held them until Cheng-tsung's son was old enough to navigate the intricacies of the court himself.
The military was one of the focuses of the change, with attempted modernization of the entire organization. So far the most promising improvements have been to the fleets, but progress was being made everywhere. Massive improvements were made to the region of Shensi.
The late Emperor's desire to totally reconstruct society continued to be followed even after his death. These changes included lessening the reliance on slave labor, and a weakening of the caste system to promote the ability of people to perform where they funcitoned best. It would be a long and drawn out process, but at least it was begun.
(Buddhist Civilized Open Empire)
Open for a Player
True Sung Emperor
Diplomacy: Chekiang (t)
The skies were full of strange lights and visions, surely this was a sign of big things to come. But was it a sign of promise, or of disaster? Diplomats were sent to Chekiang and Hangchou, the region began sending tribute to the True Emperor, but the city continued to send only token tribute, and no arguments could persuade them until a better guarantee of safety could be made. A trade route was also established with Champa as the true Emperor began focusing on extending his friendship abroad.
(Buddhist Civilized Open Empire)
Open for a Player
Nanchao King
Diplomacy: Korat (a)
Diplomats were sent by the king to Korat, where an alliance was forged. Surely a stronger alliance with Korat would be helpful if events in Lingsi did boil over. And if not, it was reassuirng to know that the ties to Nan Chao's central regions were being strengthened.
(Buddhist Civilized Open Empire)
Ch'eng-t'ien
Diplomacy:
In order to more effectively control the wild regions of teh Liao Kingdom, Ch'eng-t'ien began construciton of a road through the passes of the mountains to connect Nanjing to the Western Captial. With orders and information able to move more freely, control of the far flung regions should come easier. In the meantime, the kingdom began offering assitance to monks who wished to build small temples to bring teachings to the people.
| Mercenaries: AQRs: i7, w6, s6, c7 Troops: 10i, 5c, 5s, 5w, 5t Leaders: None |
(Buddhist Civilized Open Empire)
Open for a Player
Mokchong
Diplomacy: Mantap (f)
The heir remained in Mantap to continue his diplomatic work, and the region became a full member of the kingdom. Minor improvements to all of the cities in the realm were also undertaken and propsperous times were the standard state of affairs.
| Mercenaries: AQRs: i7, s6, c7 Troops: 11i, 12xc, 11c, 1xi Leaders: None |
(Sunni Islam Barbarian Open Empire)
Armenian King
Diplomacy:
The king spent his time both strengthening his belief and his influence with the Sunni scholars in his court. Progress was made increasing the efficiency of the tax collecting arm of the governement, due to prior investments.
(Hinduism Civilized Open Empire)
Open for a Player
Kashmir King
Diplomacy:
Having recovered his health, the king left half of his infantry behind in Kush as a garrison, and returned to Kashmir to rule his kingdom.
(Buddhist Civilized Open Empire)
Open for a Player
Hsia-Hsia King
Diplomacy:
The attention of the King was focused at home as he oversaw large improvements to Hsing-Ching-Fu and celebrated the birth of a son. The disintegration of the western regions was finally under control.
(Buddhist Civilized Open Empire)
Open for a Player
Dragon King of Tibet
Diplomacy:
The slaves in Lhasas revolted and stormed the palace, killing one of the King's lieutenants. When they actually breached the palace walls and made it to the interior, there was no King, dragon or otherwise to be found. A minor member of the old ruling family was found and reinstalled on the throne.
(Sunni Islam Nomadic Open Empire)
Open for a Player
Arsen
Diplomacy:Urgench (gone)
The Seljuks needed more laborers, and the already pacified city of Urgench seemed a likely choice. It was enslaved, looted and burned. Arsen lost another few thousand horsemen, but gained large amounts of loot and slaves. While the entiree defending force, made up of resisting citizens of the city was wiped out, totally some three thousand mostly poorly armed and trained men.
(Asiatic Pagan Civilized Open Empire)
Dead Nation
No longer exists
Diplomacy: Bolgar (un), Nogai(un), Suvar (un), Urkel (un)
The Bolgar Khan was no longer able to hold together the sqaubbling clans that made up his kingdom, and it fragmented into dozens if not more small feuding tribees in the widlerness and across the steppes.
| Mercenaries: AQRs: i6, w5, s6, c7 Troops: 17i, 2xi, 1hi, 9c, 5s, 5w, 5t Leaders: MA15 Manava, will not work for Gujerat |
(Hinduism Civilized Open Empire)
Rajaraja I
Diplomacy:
Investments continued to pour into all aspects of the governemnt, as Chola was a nation on the rise. These investments focused on the functioning of the government, and generated some success in that area, but they also included intelligence, military, religious, and other investments. The road network was expanded to include Golconda as part of this program of inmprovements as well. One of the results of all of this activity and investment was an increase in the population of Tanjore.
Prince Carpimsutra gathered up additional troops from his grandfather Rajaraja bringing his total up to eight thousand, divided evenly between men on foot and on horse. After spending time in preparation with Salish, he set out as the head of a diplomatic mission unprecedented in Cholan history. With him went Rajandra, Salish and an army of retainers, courtiers and the like, as well as the actual army he commanded. It was almost as if the palace had been emptied and sent to Dahala.
Despite the time spent preparing and the gifts brought along with the expedition, it was far from successful, The king of Dahala was offended both by the vast numbers of troops Chola thought it appropriate to send into his realm, and by the -paltry offers made in an attempt to curry his favor. Eventually the courties and diplomats found it difficult to leave the protection of there army and remained in Dahala outside the walls of Tripuri while the Prince pressed his case.
(Hinduism Civilized Open Empire)
King Vivek
Diplomacy: Karnata (ea)
The king relieved Tarak of his duties as general due to his failing health, and left the new general in charge of the enitre army, with the exception of Vivek's own elite bodyguard. He also oversaw an increase in the size of the government, which allowed him to travel on a diplomatic mission to Belur and Karnata. Nothing was accomplished in Belur, but increases trade treaties and agreements left both Ahnivarta and Karnata potentialy richer, and tied closer together.
(Hinduism Civilized Open Empire)
Open for a Player
Dahala King
Diplomacy: Kosala (ea)
Work began on lengthening the postal road to Gulbarga all the way to Bijapur, but with the mountains and the wilderness, it would be years before the way was cleared. While Cholan diplomats were in Dahala and Tripuri, the Dahalans sent one to Kosala, where he had much better luck than the Cholan diplomats back home.
(Hinduism Civilized Open Empire)
Galandi II
Diplomacy:
With the the linking of the royal families of Maghada and Benares, loyalty in the regions and cities of Benares was now questionable. If wasn't that they weren't loyal to their royal family, but rather which side of it they were loyal to. Most still paid homage to the purer Benares branch, but Galandi II sought to change this. He and his diplomats remained in the nation attempting to sway the nobles to the cause of Maghada. It worked to a certain extent. Benares, Rajput, and Juanpur all became more uncertain in there loyalties. But still the money was flowing along the old channles, and so the talks continued.
Back in Maghada, the city of Bihar was expanded, and a Royal Road was constructed form Turo to Muhaden.
(Hinduism Civilized Open Empire)
Open for a Player
Tarain King
Diplomacy:
The death of one of his trusted lieutenants caused the king to look far and wide for a replacement. And he found one, a man destined to be the new general of the armies. With the horde danger reduced due to the Ghaznavids turning east, the need was less. But they could be back, and there were always other uses for a skilled general.
(Hinduism Civilized Open Empire)
Open for a Player
Pradesh King
Diplomacy:
The king gained a measure of influence over the religious aspects of his rule, mainly due to earlier efforts. At the same time, Uttar Pradesh was greatly improved, and large sums of money were poured into the university system as the immediate threat of invasion lessened.
(Hinduism Civilized Open Empire)
Open for a Player
Ranjit
Diplomacy: Benares (ea), Rajput(ea), Jaunpor (ea)
Ranjit saw his influence waning in his realm with due to the efforts of the Maghadan diplomats. As he had no sons yet, many felt that siding with Maghada would be the wise choice with the marriage of Ranjit's eldest daughter to the now king of Maghada. It was simply a matter of Ranjit being well inot his seventh decade, and so people were already starting to act as if he was already dead. How long this state of affairs would continue was anybody's guess.
The threat of invasion was less, but still more than the king was comfortable with, and so more investments were made into the military. The ruins of a small city were uncovered in Avanti, and they proved to be an interesting source of magical oddities. Trade flourished as fortuen hunter flocked to the region.
| Mercenaries: AQRs: i5, w5, s5, c7 Troops: 10i, 5c, 10xc, 5s, 5w, 5t Leaders: None |
(Shi'a Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Open for a Player
al-Basasiri
Diplomacy:
The rebuilding continued with both Basra and Edessa being expanded back to there pre-disaster size, and improved in other ways as well. A new general was appointed to replace Daud, who died in 1033.
(Shi'a Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Sulaiman
Diplomacy:
Sulaiman returned to Ghazni where he took command of three thousand newly raised foot soldiers and over a thousand new horesemen. From there he went to Sukkur, where he unleashed his troops. They looted the region, and then began systematically enslaving the people. As would be expected the inhabitants put up a fight, eventually fielding about 3500 footmen and a thousand on horse. In other words, they were equal to the reinforcemnts Sulaiman had just picked up, but he had almost twice that before receiving reinforcements, and so faced them with almost three times their numbers. This large superiority in numbers led to a rout, and losses to Sulaiman were negligible, two hundred cavalry, and four hundred footmen. While the Sukkur army was wiped out.
Meanwhile, Ibrahim travelled with the previously captured slaves to Persia, where he put them to work improving the region. In addiiton to the captured slaves, largee numbers of Ghaznavids were put to work in the region as well. After ensuring the desired projects were begun, he travelled to Hazarajat where he arranged a marriage for the king in an attempt to gain the favor of the region. The marriage was agreed upon, but it had little effect on the relations between Sulaiman and the region of Hazarajat.
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Open for a Player
Sheba Emir
Diplomacy:
Cultivation efforts in Aden weree finally complete, and the increased production would provide for future improvements across the entire realm.
| Mercenaries: AQRs: i6, w5, s5, c6 Troops: 10i, 10c, 5s, 5w, 5t Leaders: None |
(Shi'a Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Addaya
Diplomacy:Levant (ea), Mahidia(a)
Al-Hakim died shortly after his son and heir came of age. This left Addaya, his son, in charge of the Caliphate. With the help of Grand Vizier Saeed, Addaya spend his time learning the ins and outs of court politics and how to ensure things flow smoothly in his realm. He orderd investments in various projects, from military training to religious matters and even espionage and other such capabilities.
Mansura and Egypt were the site of great deals of improvements, and a pair of new ships were launched from Alexandria to be the flagships of the fleet. Addaya detatched portions of his armies to his lieutenants, including two thousand cavalrymen to Vizier Abdulah, and ten warships to Lt. Taajudeen. These were to provide an escort for the diplomatic missions that they were sent on.
Vizier Abdullah was sent to Levant and Jerusalem to conduct his mission of diplomacy. In Levant he negotiated treaties tying the wealth of the region more closely to the Fatamids. Unfortunately, he died shortly after reaching Jerusalem to conduct negotiations there. Lt Tajudeen went by sea to Mahidia and Tunisia where he gained Mahidia as a fully ally to the Caliphate, but accomplished little in Tunisia.
Trade was also expanded, with traders being sent to Marsailles, Zagwe, Zeila, Sheba, and both the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Pope in Rome. Routes were successfully negotiated to Zagwe, Zeila and Sheba.
| Mercenaries: AQRs: i7, w5, s5, c5 Troops: 10i, 10c, 5s, 5w, 5t Leaders: None |
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Open for a Player
al'Amas
Diplomacy:
Al'Amas continued investing in the infrastructure of the emirate, and the efforts paid off. The government should be able to function with much less direct involvement now. In addition to the governmental improvements, the city of Obock was expanded.
(Coptic Christian Civilized Open Empire)
Open for a Player
Mera
Diplomacy: Adowa (ea)
Mera sent Dil to Adowa where the region became an economic ally of Zagwe. Back at home Mera attempted to increase the quality of his armies, and ordered that magic be used to boost food produciton in Funj.
| Mercenaries: AQRs: i6, w6, s4 Troops: 10i, 10xi, 5s, 5w, 5t Leaders: None |
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Open for a Player
Raschid
Diplomacy: Mombassa (f)
After years of effort, Mombassa was finally fully under the control of Zanzibar. Thanks to yet another massive diplomatic effort on behalf of Raschid.
(African Pagan Civilized Open Empire)
Open for a Player
Luwesi
Diplomacy: Bulawayo (f) [new city in Kafue]
Instead of further expanding Greater Zimbabwe, a new city was founded to the west in Kafue. The city was called Bulawayo, and with luck it too would grow to be a major city of the kingdom.
| Mercenaries: AQRs: i6, w5, s5, c5 Troops: 10i, 5c, 5s, 5w, 5t Leaders: MB67 Skull General |
(African Pagan Civilized Open Empire)
Non-Player Nation
Benin King
Diplomacy:
The king's son was sent to conduct a census of the kingdom, but died before completing the task. The king himself died shortly therafter and power passed to the King's brother.
(African Pagan Civilized Open Empire)
Open for a Player
Mombega
Diplomacy:
Mombega sent his Lieutenant to oversee the beginnings of a new city in Galam. The project woudl take more years yet, but at least it was started. While there he attempted to convince the inhabitants of the region to join with the Ghanans, but they remembered all to well being conquered not that long ago.
(African Pagan Civilized Open Empire)
Kumbayal
Diplomacy:
Kumbayal was married in 1032 and spent his time in Timbuktu overseeing the ruling of his kingdom. He gave his cavalry over to his general Bima as well as the small group of newly raised siege experts and six hundred of the best trained and equipped infantry he could manage. The king's oversight included many investments, in virtually all areas where improvement was possible. The system for taxation was particularly stremlined and other than that the university was the largest recipient of new funds.
(African Pagan Barbarian Open Empire)
Non-Player Nation
Ife King
Diplomacy:
A thousand more troops were raised to reinforce the depleted army after its battles with the dead.
(African Pagan Civilized Open Empire)
Open for a Player
Nyambe
Diplomacy: Dogamba (aw)
The military was sent out under one of Nyambe's generals to bring back slaves from Dogamba. This meant the entire army of two thousand cavalrymen and twice as many infantrymen had to cross the Niger River. They were discovered and suprised before completing their crossing, and the battle was joined immediately. The Dogambans were led by a strange man with a skull as his standard. It was said that the skull screamed througout the battle. In the end the forces arrayed by Dogamba to defend the region were still swept aside, even with the favorable conditions. They lost close to two thousand men that day, while only killing only six hundred of the invading soldiers.
Now that the region was controlled by Hausas, the enslaving process began, and of course more fighitng broke out throughout the region. The mysterious general wiht the skull totem was here and there leading pockets of resistance, and they did manage to kill another six hundred of the Hausan soldiers, but in the end they were defeated again. Once again the skull general escaped.
The army of Hausa returned home with slaves and loot, and missing eight hundred infantry and four hundred horsemen.
(African Pagan Civilized Open Empire)
Open for a Player
Kenyatta
Diplomacy:
Kenyatta and his wife celebrated the birth of a daughter while the kingdom continued to grow. The newly built city of Maradi was improved upon, and Messeli was sent to Kano on a diplomatic mission, but was unsuccessful.
| Mercenaries: AQRs: i6, w5, s6, c7 Troops: 10i, 5hi, 10c, 5s, 5w, 5t Leaders: None |
(Eastern Orthodox Barbarian Open Empire)
Open for a Player
Svatapolk
Diplomacy: Estonia (nt), Novgorod (f), Polotsk(t)
Kiev was once again expanded and improved upon in the king's absence. Svatapolk was still in Estonia where he took a wife, and managed to make slight improvements in gaining control of the region. Yaroslav remained in Latvia and was to look for a wife as part of his diplomacy as well, but he died before the marriage could be performed, and no real gains were made. Continuing the trend, Mistislav went to Novgorod to find a wife, and was quite successful in both finding a wife, and convincing the region to join with Kiev. Igor continued diplomatic efforts in Polotsk, and was anle to at least increase the tribute received from the region.
Large investments were made to the government, and assistance contued to be received from the Eastern Orthodox Church. In fact, the Eastern Orthodox religion was finally entrenched as the religion of Kiev. Many of the regions followed suit with Goryn, Kirivitch, Livonia, Muscovy, Novgorod, Pechneg and Perayaslavl all converting as well. The cities had mostly converted already, only PSkov remained predominantly pagan.
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Boleslaw
Diplomacy:
The increased income from the new census was put to use improving the region of Poland, which due to the census would benefit the kingdom even more. All in all, a nice start to building.
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Non-Player Nation
Andrew
Diplomacy:
(Eastern Orthodox Civilized Open Empire)
Basil II
Diplomacy:
Rumblings of rebellions to the east were heard, but investments in government continued to pay off, and with the help of the newly expanded government and assistance from the Eastern Orthodox church, things were still held together. Basil III was finally old enough to take his place serving his father in the government, and from all indications he would prove a great boon to the empire.
(Eastern Orthodox Civilized Religious Primacy)
Leo
Diplomacy:
Major investments including a huge boost to university funding spurred a series of improvements in the structure of the Church. Notable progress was made in the infrastructure, and both religious capabiliteis and counter assassination abilites improved. The church continued to asssist both the Byzantine Emperor, and the leadership of Kiev in adminstering their realms.
The efforts in Russia finally paid off, with the Kievan government and large numbers of people finally seeing the light and converting. Leo himself remained in the Kievan empire and was working on establishing a church in Polotsk when he died at the age of 76.
| Mercenaries: AQRs: i7, w6, s6, c6 Troops: 11i, 10c, 10s, 8w, 5t, 1ew, 1hi Leaders: None |
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Open for a Player
Al'Mansur
Diplomacy: New Castille (f), Aragon (fa), Andalusia (fa), Portugal (c)
Al'Mansur's efforts continued to focus on gaining a more solid hold on his lands. With that in mind he poured money and manpower into every aspect of the government he could, and gave two of his trusted advisors lands of there own. Vizier Ar Rachid gained the lands of Aragon as his fiefdom, and Vizier Fatih gained Andlusia.
Abbas, Crown Prince, and heir to the throne, took control of the army while the Caliph travelled to New Castille. This journey brought the trusted ally all the way into the kingdom, from there he travelled to Valencia where his efforts were of little use.
Al'Mansur wasn't the only one working diplomatically however, Fatih continued his efforts in Lisbon and Portugal before taking control of his new fief in Andalusia. Unfortunately all he managed to do was anger the people of Portugal, and weaken their ties to the Caliph.
Before taking over his realm of Aragon, Ar Rachid spend some time making small adjustments to the garrisons in the surrounding regions. He then happily retired to Aragon.
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Open for a Player
Henry II
Diplomacy: Leon (ea), Pamplona (f) [new city in navarre)
Diplomats sent to Leon increase ties with the region, while in Navarre, Pamplona became the regions capital. The two events provided a significant boost to the future of the kingdoms.
(Roman Catholic Seafaring Open Empire)
Open for a Player
Giovanni
Diplomacy: Campania(f)
Giovanni sent a diplomat to Campania, where he forged an alliance between the region and the city of Venice. While back in Venice the government was made more efficient due to previous investments. Additionally, Giovanni welcomed the French invitation to trade and so ships began to travel between the two nations.
(Roman Catholic Seafaring Open Empire)
Svien Forkbeard
Diplomacy:
Svien knew that he could hold Denmark as long as necessary against any aggresison from the north, but the holdings across the sea were a different matter. As such, he had six new heavy wrships built in preparation to take the fight to the Swedes. First priority was given to reinforcing his other holdings, and the fleet set sail carrying heavy infantry to bolster the defenses in Lund.
But upon sailing out of Viborg, the Swedes were already waiting. And battle as immediately joined. Svien's crews were vastly superior to the Swedish crews, but Olaf of the Swedes was a cunning strategist. Svien found himself immediately outnumbered, with his thirty six ships facing off against almost a hundred Swedish vessels. His first inclination was to immediately retreat back to port, but then he noticed something. Over half of the Swedish fleet was transports, not true warships, and so the odds weren't as terrible as he had feared. He was still outnumbered, but he trusted in his elite crews to wreak havoc through the swedish lines and open up the possibility of escaping with their troops intact.
Both sides inflicted damage on one another, with the Danes having six ships knocked out of the fight, (and losing four hundred carried infantrymen with those ships). The Swedes lost a full dozen vessels though, including half of their elite core. Olaf's ships did not fully pursue as they did not with to allow the blockade on Viborg to end just yet, and so the remaing Danish ships made it to Lund and dropped off their cargo of soldiers.
Now Svien was faced with having to fight his way back through the Swedish blockade to return home. At least this time he could choose the timing and location of the attack as he would not be leaving the harbor, but coming instead from the sea. As before the fight was on, and this time Svien's navy managed to knock out twenty more Swedish ships, with most of Sweden's new heavy ships being put out of action. These gains were not wihtout losses however. A full dozen Danish ships were lost, leaving less than twenty ships ready to continue the fight.
Having loaded up on soldiers again (though fewer this time due to fewer ships), it was time to take to the seas once more. The Swedish fleet was nowhere to be seen, having given up the blockade, and so away Svien sailed. His hopes that the Swedish navy had retreated all the way to Birka were not to be, however. And the fleets once more clashed between Viborg and Lund. The quality of the Danish fleet was no match for the increasing numerical differences, and it was soundly beaten, sailing back into Viborg with only two combat worthy vessels. Luckily for Svien, one of those vessels was his, and he survived the disaster. They did manage to severely damage or sink anotehr twelve Swedish ships, so the Swedish navy was reduced. But the cost was far too high. At least some of the ships could be repaired, the Dansih navy was not totally out of the picture just yet.
Soldiers and sailors weren't the only significant losses to Denmark, Harald died in 1032 having been left to rule in the King's place. And Erik Olaffson was killed in the fighting in Lund.
(European Pagan Seafaring Open Empire)
Olaf Tryggvason
Diplomacy: Shetlans (a)
Minor improvements were made to Thorshavn, while the fleet went out to raid once again. Astrid Helgasdottir replaced Olaf Haroldson as second in command of the fleet leaving Olaf behind to ensure the smooth running of the government.
The fleet, having added a new pair of heavy elite warships, set sail to the Irish sea, raiding Ulster and Connaught for slaves. Then continuing on to Munster, Gwynned, Lancashire, Lothian and finally Stratchclyde before returning home.
Sven Barrelchest went to the Shetland Islands, and signed an alliance agreement with them before dying while there.
(European Pagan Seafaring Open Empire)
Olaf II
Diplomacy:
The time for talking had long since ended. Olaf gathered his fleet and set off to deal with the Danes once and for all. Or maybe to die valiantly in the atteempt. Either way the battles would be glorious, and he would be remembered for generations in the songs of his people. For starters, he would pin them in Viborg whle other efforst were underway on land. And so with his fleet, and that of Slettu Einarr of Smalland, and a half dozen new heavy ships, he set sail.
While Olaf was sailing with the fleet, Slettu Einarr took control of his army, and the armies of Jamtland and Kopparborg and set off for Skane with Thorfinn to act as a diplomat to represent Olaf II. Att told, Slettu's focrces consisted of eight thousand mostly heavily armored and armed, and a small force of cavalry to sreen and scout for the main army.
His claims of peaceful intent, though somehwat true, were not believed by the populace, in the end, he was forced to attack the region, making it a paciffied tributary. From there, his eye turned towards Lund, whihc had high, strong walls, and a recent addition of almost a thousand new heavy footmen dropped off by Svien Forkbeard of Denmark. Numbers were on his side, as was time as long as Olaf could keep reinforcements to a minimum.
And so the siege was on, initial combat losses by the Swedish army were low, but the Kopparborg army's general was killed, and they retreated to return home. Meanwhile, in the city, most of the newly arrived infantry had already been lost, but the walls held and were no small matter, the siege would continue. It was only a matter of a few more months before it was all over. The walls had come down, and Slettu's forces had lost less tahn a thousand infantrymen (not counting those that had merely returned home to Kopparborg). The city of Lund was now Sweden's.
The gains made in Skand and Lund were short-lived, as the Swedish armies retreated to return home, the newly gained regions revolted and returned to Danish control.
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Edmund
Diplomacy:
Continued improvements to the government led it to be considered a Centralized Monarchy, as more power was concentrated in the hands of the Edmund. Athelgar II was finally old enough to take his place as heir to the throne, and as part of the ensuing celebrations, a magical fair was held in Sussex. Some improvemnts were made to the region as well in preparation for the fair.
Cedric returned from New York, and took control of the navy, to protect the interests of the King in the waters surrounding the kingdom. And while there were raids to the island, none were in what was consdiered the King's terriitory. so he was content to merely follow the raiders until they sailed away.
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Henry
Diplomacy: Arras(fa), Dijon(a), Orleans(ea), Limousini(t)
Major improvements to the government and the region of Ile De France were overseen by Henry while he remained at home ruling, and spedning time with his new daughter.
Phillip was sent on a diplomatic tour starting in Arras and contnuing through Ponthieu, Vermandois, Dijon, Orleans, and finally Limousin. Finding success in Arras, Dijon, Orleans and Limousin. Traders were sent to many nations, with those sent to Cordoba and England being turned away. Trade was initiaed with Denmark, but the ongoing naval battles ensured it was extremely limited. Traders from Venice weree also welcomed to Narbonne.
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Henry
Diplomacy:
The completion of a census by Karl ensured a more accurate taxation of the Empire. Following his work on the census, Karl travelled to Swabia to conduct diplomatic negotiations, but acheived no real changes with relations to the region.
Mathias and Michael were also sent on diplomatic missions, Mathias to Holland, where a treaty of alliance was signed. He also left his troops in Utrecht to help protect against troubles to the north from spreading into the empire. Michael was sent to Franconia where another alliance agreement was signed.
While all of this was occuring, Henry remained in Alsace ruling his empire, overseeing improvements to the region, and watching the newly raised knights and heavy footsoldiers parade. While the new numbers were small, less than five hundred total, they were very well trained and equipped.
(Roman Catholic Civilized Religious Primacy)
Open for a Player
Sylvester II
Diplomacy: Holland (a), Franconia (a)
Sylvester II continued to invest in the church's universities and infrastructure, and was rewarded with improvements to the government of the church. It was enough that little to no supervision should be needed for the forseeable future. The deaths of two prominent bishops marred the otherwise succesful period.