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Alrowan
08-13-2003, 01:15
In the northlands a wild people dwelt, hardened by thier climate, and adventuers by nature. They were a hardy people, bred on mead and meat, feasting and warring were thier only passtimes. As the winters grew colder and the crops began to fail, these people turned thier eyes sothward to the warmer climates, and so began the raiding and pillaging that would strike fear into the hearts of a people who had never seen such warriors. The Vikings is what these northmen were soon to be known as, and they would rule for 500 years the seas and passages of northern Europe

This is a Viking Roleplay, its a freeform, which means there is no GameMaster directing the story. Feel free to take on the role of a viking, a briton, a frank, or anyone from this period. I expect lots of feasting and bloodletting. This is by no means historical, but we will start in the year 850AD, with the established kingdoms of that time. Enjoy.

Brother Derfel
08-14-2003, 17:18
Aelung spat on the dusty ground at his feet and sighed, trying to keep his eyes open as he did for fear of falling asleep.

The third night in a row he had been put on sentry duty whilst the other swine in his warband feasted and made merry in the way that only warriors can. But these men were not warriors but mear paesants and farmers playing at soldiers. The Viking raids along the coast had grown more feroucious over the last month and the local lord, Aethelgrim had demanded that the levy be raised.

Aelung was an old soldier. 20 of his 34 years had been spent carrying a spear for one lord or another in their pety wars. Guarding the border in the north against Scots raiding for cattle, or in the south fighting against the Britons, there had always been work for a man willing to fight. Now he was second in command of this stinking unit of 30 farmers, witha commander both incompetant and arrogant. His name was Harold, the youngest son of Aethelgrim, and therefor considered himself royalty compared to the likes of Aelung. In reality Harold was despised by his father and brothers and given a pityful alowance to keep him in living that was expected of a lords son.

It had been hatred at first sight for both Aelung and Harold. Harold had seen a capable old warrior, much respected by the few other former warriors in the levy and obviously a capable man. And as Harold was shrewd enough to realise that he himself had none of these qualities his ealousy for Aelung was sparked there and then. Aelung had seen in Harold a pompous and idiotic young oaf. He obviously drank too much too often and although no better off than Aelung, he also led a life style denied to Aelung by his humble backgrounds, and as such a smal amount of jealousy was returned to Harold. But the real hatred for Harold came when his treatment of the men was made aware to Aelung. Those in the levy that had seen combat before were considered scum by Harold who set them to meaningless tasks and hard labour whenever he could. That was the main reason that Aelung had spent all this time in command of the sentries at night whilst Harold and his freinds from the unit drank and made merry.

It was in this frame of mind that Aelung stood on the outskirts of the village, stamping his feet against the cold. A drunken warrior stagered out of a hut and pulled down his breaches to piss against a wall, but fell over wilst he was about it and did not bother to get back up again. Aelung looked away in disgust and as he did his eyes caught sight of movment far out in the sea. He rubbed at his bleary, tired eyes till they hurt, but the familiar shape would not go away. Aelung took one last galnce out to sea before he fillind his lungs as much as he could and bellowed at the top of his voice in the direction of the Village,

VIKINGS he bawled, TO ARMS

And the sleek hull of the longboat glided relentlessly towards the shore...

DemonArchangel
08-15-2003, 14:00
ooc: I would love to join this RP, but at this moment, I know almost nothing about Viking history. Do you know any sources of information?

Dîn-Heru
08-15-2003, 14:30
OOC: Some sources for Vikings and norse mythology

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/vikings/
http://www.isholf.is/gardarj/folk/sagas.htm
http://www.vikingsonline.org.uk/
http://archaeology.ncl.ac.uk/postgra....dex.htm (http://archaeology.ncl.ac.uk/postgraduate/studentpages/MEngen/Vikinger/Index.htm)
http://www.viking.no/e/ewho.htm
http://members.lycos.nl/vikings/vikingjourney.html
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/OMACL/Heimskringla/
http://odin.dep.no/odin/engelsk/norway/history/index-b-n-a.html
http://home.hib.no/mediesenter/asgard/engelsk/mainpage.htm
http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~cherryne/mythology.html

Alrowan
08-15-2003, 15:33
OOC: ill be posting soon

DemonArchangel
08-15-2003, 15:52
thanks Din Heru

Brother Derfel
08-15-2003, 18:04
ooc: Nice links, some very interesting reading there.

ic: (Continued from my first post)
…When Aelung came to, he was led on his back inside the church. He felt dizzy and light headed and for some reason could not move his left arm. He opened his eyes and immediately wished he hadn’t. Blood was matted thick on his face and bye opening his eyes the wound on his forehead opened up with excruciating pain. He let out a grunt, gritted his teach and tried to rise. He managed to pull himself upright and swung his legs over the edge of the makeshift bed he was lead on and assessed the damage that he had received. Apart from the wound on his head that appeared to have been made by an arrow glancing off of his skull, his left shoulder had taken a deep wound from a spear thrust that was now bandaged but still throbbed and ached with sickening pain.

Aelung closed his eyes once more and tried to recall what had happened. From the second that he had raised the alarm, confusion and chaos had taken control of the night. As tired as he had been, Aelung had gathered the 10 sentries that stood on guard about the down too him and led them to the Church door to guard the valuables within. His best men, the old soldiers and veterans were among this guard and he left his good friend Barthus in command whilst he sprinted back to the village to try and rouse the rest of the levy unit. When Aelung reached the village that lay about two hundred feet from the church, he was met with a scene of general panic. The few members of the levy that were not completely drunk were standing rubbing their eyes and staring with disbelief out to sea at the ever approaching long boat. The less sober members of the levy were in varying states of consciousness and confusion, most not realising their danger. Aelung could not find Harold anywhere and so set about trying to organise those members of the levy that were fit to fight into a shield-wall at the end of the village. By the time that Aelung had about a dozen men standing ready, the Vikings were close enough to the shore for several of their warriors to jump out and guide their ship onto the beach. Aelung began to count the dark shapes on board and estimated that there ere perhaps fifty men aboard. An arrow, fired by one of the men in the church whistled through the night sky and struck the prow of the long boat. The effect of this was to set the night into action. Viking warriors jumped from their boat into the water with a succession of splashes and Nordic curses as they raced up the beach onto the dunes that stood before the village. The majority of the Vikings were headed for the church where the most valuable plunder could be found, but at least twenty rushed towards the village where Aelung stood with his paltry dozen. His men took one look at the charging Vikings and fled back into the village. Aelung had no choice but to run with them, discarding his spear and drawing a sword as he did. The Vikings pursued the fleeing levy with glee, catching up with the slower men and hacking them down from behind. Those men who had been too drunk to wake were speared where they led and the men who fled into huts were shut in whilst the thatch was torched. Aelung was being pursued by two men, one a hulking great man with a spear large enough to skewer a wild boar, the other an equally large man, but young by the look of his face, and he carried a sword and a shield. Aelung decided he could no longer out run them so turned to fight. The first man to reach him was the younger one bandishing his sword above his head as he moved forward rashly to try and decapitate his victim. Aelung had no problem deflecting the blow and turned his parry into a thrust of his own that struck the man in the arm pit sending him staggering off. The second man reached Aelung as he was stabbing the first, and had thrust with his spear the second that Aelungs sword had found its mark. Aelung was not fast enough to parry this blow and took the spear thrust in his shoulder. The pain was terrible, but me managed to pull free and deflect the Vikings second thrust that was aimed for his belly. The Viking was strong but slow, and Aelung had time to bring his sword round in a wide slash that caught the spearmen in the throat, spilling his blood across the ground. Aelung staggered away, trying to remain hidden and it was then that he had lost consciousness.

It had been a stray arrow that had struck Aelung in the head and knocked him to the floor, and this had come as a blessing. The Vikings had made short work of the levy in the village and after plundering the bodies, Aelungs included who had been mistaken for dead, they had torched the village and returned to their boat. The men at the church had managed to close the heavy doors on the Vikings and had fired arrows from the windows at them. They had managed to hold out till the morning when the Vikings left for fear of being caught by a larger force of Saxons. Barthus himself had found Aelung alive among the bodies and had carried him to the church where he now rested.

As Aelung was being informed of the events, a rider arrived from Aethelgrim demanding to see Harold. When told that Harold had disappeared (his body was not found with the rest of the dead) and that Aelung was now in charge the rider told Aelung to make himself ready and to go with him to Aethelgrim’s hall...

DemonArchangel
08-16-2003, 15:20
No women my hairy ass... muttered a gigantic viking as he slung a large, slighty shifting leather sack over his shoulder. Jomsborg didn't quite suit the giant viking's needs for sexual release entirely, so he had to bend the rules a bit to fit his needs. The giant viking walked down a long hallway, bearing his burden with a surprising ease. A superior passed him by in the hallway, but the superior acted like he didn't even SEE the sack that the giant was holding, many Jomsvikings could sympathize; they smuggled women into the fortress too. The viking stopped at a door and walked in. The room had nothing but a straw mattress and a few weapons in it. The viking put his sack down and a beautiful woman with light blue eyes and blond hair crawled out of the sack. The viking locked the door....

Brother Derfel
08-18-2003, 13:37
Aethelgrim’s hall was a long timber building, thatched on top with a central hole through which the smoke from the constant fire that burnt within could escape. The outer walls were packed with hard dry mud over a wattle frame, while the inner walls were hung with the furs of many animals. Long tables were arranged down the two lengths of the hall, while a shorter table was set at the end. It was at this table that Aethelgrim, his family and his warlords sat when Aelung entered. The other tables were taken by other men and women of high status in Aethelgrim’s ‘court’ as he liked to call it in mockery of the British kings whom he fought.

As soon as he entered, Aelung realised that he did not belong here. Most of the men, with the exception of a couple of the warlords, and all of the women wore rich and fashionable civilian clothes that made Aelung feel shabby and poor in his simple garments. All of Aelung’s weapons and armour had been removed before he entered and now he made his way up the hall in his farmers coat and breeches. He became aware that all eyes were now upon him as he finally reached the end of the hall and stood to attention before his lord, Aethelgrim. At first his appearance seemed to make no difference to anybody seated at this exulted table as they continued to talk to each other as before and the wine still flowed freely into their goblets. Finally Aethelgrim turned his attention to Aelung.
“You sir, what is your name and what is your purpose?” he asked with scorn for the apparent wretch he saw before him.
“My name is Aelung my lord,” he replied in a steady voice used to dealing with superiors, “I bring news from Mierton, a Viking raid struck the village two days ago, my unit defended the Church, but the village was sacked and many men lost. My commander, your son Harold is missing as are several others and but a dozen men of the unit remain. I am truly sorry my lord.”
Aelung hung his head in feigned respect for the loss of Harold, but it soon became apparent that Aethelgrim was more upset about the loss of the village.
“That idiot son of mine, look what he has done now” roared Aethelgrim, now in a state of fury. “I give him the simple task of governing one village and he gets himself killed and lets a village of mine be destroyed”
“My lord,” spoke Aelung, “We do not believe that Harold is dead, we believe he may have been captured by the Vikings, his body was not among the dead.”
This news seemed to calm Aethelgrim, but the glare of anger remained in his eyes, but a new light of mischief also appeared.
“Come, site by me and tell me about the raid...

DemonArchangel
08-21-2003, 23:51
ooc: where the heck are alrowan and sigurd fafnesbane? http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif

Alrowan
08-22-2003, 00:46
OOC: Alrowans Charachter, Torf, will arrive when Alrowan has finnished these damn assesments. Got an essay due next week on how medieval monarchs raised the funds for thier armies and how they recruited and supplied them

DemonArchangel
09-04-2003, 21:12
i'll post again after alrowan.

DemonArchangel
10-10-2003, 22:11
It's customary for me in forum rps to wait my turn. Well, i may post, but i'm definitely intrested.

DemonArchangel
10-12-2003, 00:00
ALROWAN DAMNIT POST