Scottish PBM Write-up thread.

Royal Family:
King Malcolm III:
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Prince Edward, the heir:
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Prince Edmund:
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“Gah! How can that idiot do this to me!” Prince Edward roared, causing several members of his retinue to shift uncomfortably in their saddles. The past few months had brought one unpleasant revelation after another for him. Despite his pleas, joined by those of the Council of Nobles, to take the city of York and cause a stop to the northward expansion of the new upstart Norman leaders of the English, his father King Malcolm had decreed that no incursions were to be made into lands claimed by the Norman king William. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Malcolm negotiated an alliance with the English and married Edward off to an singularly unpleasant Englishwoman.

Instead of conquering the potentially rich region of Northumbria, with York at its center, Edward was sent to this godforsaken country called Ireland, while his brother was sent to conquer Inverness in northern Scotland. Both poor regions, Inverness at least boasted a castle, or rather a shoddily built wooden structure claimed to be a castle by its rebel inhabitants. King Malcolm had somehow decided that his kingdom would be better off taking poor territories inhabited by fellow Gaels than rich ones containing Saxons. He often rambled about uniting the Celtic outposts left in Britain and Ireland.

Ah well, Edward sighed to himself, when Malcolm died he would be king, and could do what he wished. For now he would be content so long as he was able to pursue his favorite pursuit, that of battle. It even looked like the inhabitants of this dreary town Dublin were going to attempt to put up a fight. Their army consisted mostly of rabble and mercenary soldiers called Galloglaichs, no doubt hired by the noblemen who ruled this land. A pity they preferred cowering in their estates rather than joining the battle and leading their men. This battle was going to be far too easy.
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Prince Edward ordered his infantry and archers to line up in the center, with him and his retinue on one wing and two units of border horses on the other. As expected the rabble enemy army lined up in a semblance of a battle line and charged his infantry, although surprisingly they were observant enough to send a unit of spearmen after the prince.

Edward ordered his retinue to charge, decimating the poorly equipped peasants. Meanwhile, the rest of the enemy infantry ran right into his trap. His main battle line held while the border horses came crashing into the enemy’s flanks. Before long most of the enemy army was dead, while the rest fled.

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They put up some resistance in the town center, but before long not an enemy was left standing.
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While Edward was winning a crushing victory in Ireland, his brother Edmund was less lucky. He was able to take Inverness, but only after much loss of life. In the end it came down to bloody battle in the castle courtyard, where all his personal retinue died and he was badly injured. Still, it was another victory for the Scots, and yet more territory added to the kingdom.
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The next 7 years were fairly quiet, as the now more powerful Scottish kingdom consolidated its gains and sought to become a respected world power. Scotland’s cities and castle’s were developed and new trade routes opened. Edinburgh even became known as a major city.
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Scottish cartographers mapped out the borders of new kingdoms as diplomats made it safer for them to wander past their own country’s borders. Meanwhile treaties were signed with countries like France and Denmark, and even the Pope himself became a Scottish ally. It was said that Scotland had become the Pope’s most favored nation. His holiness even requested that Scotland take part in a crusade to Jerusalem, although the Council of Nobles also requested the conquest of Caernarvon. Malcolm would have to think carefully about whether to try to split up his forces and fulfill both requests.

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In a small church, a priest is found writing quickly in a book. He appears unhappy, most likely due to the task he's achieving. The man says:

"Hrrm, why? Why did the King order me to do this? The history of the past 40 years is probably of no interest to anyone whatsoever... Gah!"

He grumbles some more. Finally, he finishes, and reads what he has written, to assure himself of its validity.

"So. During the past 40 years, the great Men of Scotland have expanded their knowledge of the world and contacted far-flung men of strange beliefs. They have also supported their English neighbours when the Kingdom of France declared war upon them - a perhaps not entirely sane idea.

"In other matters, more suited to them, the great Men of Scotland have conquered the castle of Caernavon in a great battle. Then, the army that conquered it set sail for the Holy Land, to do good in the Crusade for Jerusalem. By great luck, the Polish whom had besieged the Holy City were defeated, while weakening the defenders to a point that made it easy for them to win.

"Sadly, the people of Jerusalem did not see the assault peacefully - too many Islamists and Heretics, I say... They rebelled, and the conquering army retreated to the sea. However, the Cogs that were hired to transport the soldiers had left, and all our men could do was attempt to conquer another town: Acre.

"Another mighty battle occured - one the Scots won, of course. This time, the reception was different. Acre was a peaceful town, and so it would remain, even upon the Army's assault."

The monk looks satisfied enough with what he has written. He says finally, to no one:

"I'll send this to the painters, and they'll be able to put nice recreations of what happened, as well as our extent of knowledge of the world's situation. I hope the King is satisfied. I'm not, honestly."

The monk closes the book, and, clutching it, exits the Church. He then departs for Edinburgh, in the hopes of finding someone to paint something in relation to what he has written.

Turns 41-50

Relations Report

Patrick Macdougall manages to agree trade rights with the Turks. Our relations with England, France, Poland and the Moors are currently outstanding. The Danes refuse an alliance with us. An explorers guild is established in Antioch. Gille Coimded Mar was recruited to spy on the English.

Religion Report

Pope Gregory dies and Pope Leonardus of Denmark is elected. Pope Leonardus dies and Pope Miccelle of Denmark is elected. A Theologians guild is established in Edinburgh and a Templars Minor Chapter House is established in Inverness. Milan are excommunicated. Priest Kirk of Midlothian denounces a heretic. For this he is promoted into the College of Cardinals.

Construction Report

Aside from the usual economic and happiness buildings in our settlements a fortress was completed in Inverness.

Military Report

The excess units of mercenaries in Acre are disbanded (to match our rules).

David the Honourable lays siege to the rebel-held Damascus. Whilst building siege equipment our spy Aed the Boroundoun manages to open the gates. The battle is hard fought but ends in a Scottish victory. David the Honourable is lucky to survive the battle as he is targeted by the enemy cavalry and has to flee from the settlement. He returns to bolster the troops and see the final victory. The population are put to the sword and 1,944 florins is added to our treasury. The Council Of Nobles also awards us 2,500 florins.

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We request a crusade to the rebel-held Antioch and the Pope agrees. David the Honourable joins the crusade and is closely followed by Spain, Venice and Hungary. David the Honourable sieges the settlement and after victory puts the population to the sword and 3,685 florins is added to our treasury. The Pope also awards us 2,095 florins.

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The Council of Nobles requests that we reinforce Acre and they reward us 500 florins.

Turns 51-60

Family Report

Our sister Nichola Canmore weds Nectan of Clair. Mac Bethad Canmore comes of age.

Relations Report

Denmark twice blockade our ports and twice accept a ceasefire but after they are excommunicated we decide to take revenge. Egypt requests 210 florins not to attack us. It is a small price to keep the peace but we will remember this. An alliance is gained with Spain.

Religion Report

Denmark are excommunicated by the Pope.

Construction Report

Aside from the usual economic and happiness buildings in our settlements a fortress was completed in Acre.

Military Report

The Council of Nobles requests that we take Adana. Aed the Boroundoun opens the gates and David the Honourable takes and occupies the settlement. The Council of Nobles rewards us with 4 units of Knight Templars at our capital.

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The Council of Nobles requests that we reinforce acre and we receive 2 units of dismounted feudal knights for doing so.

The Council of Nobles requests that we take Aleppo. David the Honourable takes and occupies the settlement. The Council of Nobles rewards us with 2,500 florins.

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The Egyptians take the rebel-held settlement of Jerusalem.

Denmark are excommunicated. We request a crusade to their settlement of Antwerp in revenge for their previous blockades of our ports. The pope agrees to the crusade.

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Our King Edward joins the crusade along with England, France, Hungary and Venice. King Edward is the first to arrive at Antwerp and lays siege to the settlement.

The Council of Nobles requests that we blockade the Danish settlement of Hamburg and will reward us 1,000 florins.

Placeholder.

(Notes: I parked Kyle at Dublin because I didn't have anything else to do with him. He stayed there right through the end, and looking back it provides a perfect excuse for running the realm rather better than Alexander might have. It also keeps me from having to follow several different 'voices' in the narrative. The fifteen further turns won't be far behind I hope.)

A Secret Account of the Last Years of the Reign of King Alexander the Mad of Scotland.

My name is Kyle Feniss, husband of Mariot Canmore, daughter of Edmund Canmore who rules Scotland in all but name. My position was secured by agreement and through my childhood companionship with Edmund's son Donnchadh. We have both recently come of age in Edinburgh in the year of our Lord 1240. I am to be appointed the guardian and manager of King Alexander, who is touched by God and subject to frequent tormenting visions, no few of which come out of a bottle.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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Some of the less reputable members of the nobility, my own father included, have been attempting of late to take advantage of the King's madness for their own benefit and my job will be to prevent this and to attempt to mitigate some of our Lord's more, ahh, unusual commandments. My father hopes to use me to secure his own ends, while Edmund, the de facto ruler, imagines that placing me in this position will give the nobles just enough room to hang themselves.

Both of them are in for some surprises, as God has blessed me with more wit than all of them put together. I have a plan for my people and I mean to see it enacted no matter the cost. Unfortunately Edmund's brother David rules our rich holdings in the Levant with all the care and aplomb one would expect of a madman. His sons may be rather easier to manage if I can only get David out of the way, especially his eldest, Mac Bethad, whose chivalry is so great that it is the tail that wags Mac the dog.

At Antwerp Prince Cennedig can be seen to shudder when his father's name is even mentioned. The city he wards is rich and large, and leaves him with little time for questioning orders from a man whom he does not wish even to recall. The Prince will be happy so long as I keep him wealthy and out of the homelands.

The last person of note is old King Edward's son Eion, whose hate for the English has utterly sidelined him politically and left him powerless and despised. He can rot at Caernarvon for the rest of his days for all I care.

In the first year of my reign Jerusalem is under siege by an army of Egypt with Mac Bethad inside and under orders from his father not to sally out and risk damage to the holy city. David has sworn to ride out of Damascus to his relief, and in that cause attacks the Egyptian Sultan who camps nearby.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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Under the concealing moonlight David compells his crudest militiamen to make a frontal assault against one of the most immense defensive positions in the entire world held by nearly three hundred fine archers. They die in droves, but as they do David and his Templar allies climb the hill along a narrow back path to reach the enemy's position.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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Shocked Saracen spearmen struggle to reposition themselves to halt the Templars, but when David's guardsmen arrive the rout is on.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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With spearmen still advancing in front of them the Egyptian archers cannot withdraw in time to avoid crushing simultaneous charges from David and his Templars. Hundreds of them die or throw down their weapons in terror, leaving the Sultan and the spearmen he managed to rally alone against our overwhelming force. Sultan Moussa is no coward, and he can see how exhausted our numerous militia spearmen are. Calling his own spearmen to his side he launches a charge at a weakened company of town militia.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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Immediately the Templars answer his charge with one of their own, but the Sultan's men are mighty and they hold. His spearmen are slowly being ground down by three companies of our own, but their will refuses to falter with Moussa fighting so near. Shockingly it begins to look like the Sultan will turn the tide of battle singlehandedly. His bodyguard is butchering the militia and the Templars alike. Though outnumbered and surrounded they kill and kill, even when David personally leads his own guard back into battle the tide is still against us. Only David's immense personal charisma and reputation keep the men fighting this day, especially as his personal guard is reduced to only one grizzled veteran.

In the end, it is enough. A lowly spearmen, worn out and uncertain, strikes the Sultan's horse in the face with his shield, and Sultan Moussa is thrown to the ground. A dozen spears break his body, and the will of his men.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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A bloody battle, but a great victory in the fact that David the Mad drove his men up so massive a mountainside and brought some back down again with the enemy's banner and the head of their king.

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Prisoners from the battle are ransomed to the Egyptians for nine hundred florins.

David then calls his son Comgell to send reinforcements from his army near Acre. Comgell retreats to secure Antioch, where there is a plague of heresy, and sends a mighty host to the aid of his father, who moves to attack the new Egyptian Sultan, Allam.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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Dramatically outnumbered Allam gamely gives battle, but retreats with the remnants of his cavalry when our men prove their superiority on the field.

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After this bloody day the Egyptians will dub David a Merciless Mauler. The Saracens retreat from Jerusalem rather than risk him coming south against them.

The next two years see the launch of my economic reforms and the armies trained to full strength under the guise of demands from King Alexander. My arrival in Dublin revealed precisely what I'd expected, dealing with the King's shifting demands and claims of prophecy is so horrific a burden that no other will accept it. My God, I must even aid the man in the toilet. This, though, makes it all the easier to shift his public pronouncements to my own end, and to issue proclamations of my own devising as though in his hand. Scotland may acknowledge Alexander as their King, Edmund as their ruler, and David as their champion, but I am the hand that holds the tiller. My wife, Marion, is becoming a cow of the first order, but she prevents Edmund from acting against me even if he suspects something. Meanwhile David's demands for coin make him quite amenable to instituting the reforms I ask.

In short my rule is secure. As I have no wish for war to disrupt my complete assumption of power I am sending a diplomat to seek peace with the Danes. Additionally to prevent conflict from breaking out neaby in Europe I have arranged for Prince Cennedig to marry a pretty princess from France named Isabelle. The French are paying eleven hundred florins for the privelege, and with firm lines now connecting them to the English there should be little risk of war close at home in the near future. I suspect the girl will keep Cennedig busy for quite some time, though she may be popular enough to increase his influence as well.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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David sends word of a mighty victory over rebels east of Damascus, and a request for more funds for increasing his armies.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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Rights of passage are secured for our armies across English soil in exchange for the reverse consideration as well. Seeking to influence our standing with the Pope a travelling group of priests is established in the Levant and begins converting heathens south of Damascus while David, at the slightest suggestion of mine, has marched south towards the mighty Egyptian castle at Gaza. It is time to bring an end to Egypt's ability to make war against us.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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Two years later Edmund Canmore, the prime impediment to my absolute rule of our northern lands, passed away peacefully in his bed. Mariot is distraught, but he was quite old and I am now able to divert the funds to provide her with any comfort she might seek. Unfortunately my heretofore quiet brother in law, Malcom Forester, is now stirring up trouble about who is to assume leadership of our Clan. My position is solid but I have no wish to see a serious challenge emerge. I must find something more permanent to occupy Malcom, but for the nonce he is given governership of Edinburgh.

Meanwhile Mac Bethad the Honest has taken a wife at Jerusalem and the last heretics around Antioch have been sent to the stake. The realm is peaceful, and is starting to become profitable as well.

The further passage of two years brings me more trouble with David the Mad. Despite swearing to lay siege to Gaza he is now expressing reluctance on the claim that a vision from God seemed to show a new enemy emerging. I must have Gaza to lock down the south of the Levant and allow for the eventual conversion of the northern castles there into more profitable cities. The fall of Gaza will inevitably presage the fall of Egypt. With that goal in mind I craft a letter to the Pope in King Alexander's hand showing the need for a Crusade to unite Christianity. Obviously I would prefer an Egyptian target, but the Pope is a Dane, and though he has excommunicated his own King he is displeased that we have not yet declared a ceasefire with them. As well the Sicilians have sent armies against Papal forces, so the Crusade is called against Palermo.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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David immediately sends a request to join the crusade. I agree to this, with one caveat, his crusaders must first capture Gaza. The siege begins within the year.

The tenth year of my reign sees many nations answer the call to Crusade. England, France, Milan, The Holy Roman Empire, and the Papacy all form up armies. In Jerusalem David's youngest son, named Edmund for his uncle, comes of age and is sent to Damascus to manage the city. The ruler of Jerusalem, Mac Bethad, is dubbed 'the Saint' by his subjects for his benevolent rule. My reformation of the economy has a steady flow of coin entering our coffers and substantial improvements on the way throughout the cities of the realm. I assure you, noble reader, that even King Alexander himself is happier under my rule than when the stress and worry of guiding the nation broke his mind and turned him to drink. The peasantry have better churches to attend, the nobles have more money to spend, the soldiers get their wages on time, and the priests of Scotland are increasingly viewed as the most effective in the known world. Of course in the better off race you might say I am first among equals, though few will ever realize it.

A Secret Account of the Last Years of the Reign of King Alexander the Mad of Scotland.

Our Kingdom is reputed to be the most advanced in the world, which confirms that my rule of Scotland is approved by God and best for all concerned. Despite this my brother in law, Donnchadh, is displeased and feels unappreciated while our eldest brother, Malcom, stirs up trouble and commissions a suit of armor for himself, as though to prepare for a battle. Both of them need direction in their lives, and I shall have to find it. Meanwhile my envoy has finally reached Hamburg and contacted the Danes to arrange a ceasefire. They are taxed accordingly for the privelege, and surrender far off Helsinki in addition to a small sum of coin. Perhaps Donnachadh would like to oversee the great work of converting this rather minor castle into a city and trade hub for Scotland?

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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The French crusader army is spotted north of Milan. When word of this reaches David at the walls of Gaza he launches an immediate assault there.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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The Egyptians have no infantry at Gaza, so the initial assault is unresisted and the outer walls fall quickly.

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When David rides up to the inner walls to oversee the erection of the ladders and the placement of his highland archers the enemy general sallies out of the gate against him. David's guard is outnumbered and his archers are busy with the enemy Mamluks, so he calls for aid from the rest of the army, still holding at the outer wall.

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The arrival of his swordsmen in force signals the end of Egyptian resistance as their general, al Ikhshid, lays down his sword and surrenders. Egypt pays his ransom and the fortress is occupied peacefully, earning David the Mad the new title 'the Saint.'

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East of Gaza David's son, Mac Bethad the Saint, destroys a small army of Egyptians before riding back to Jerusalem, and sends some highland archers to destroy another small force nearby.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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Ships are still being prepared to carry the crusaders across the sea at every available port, so the army must wait at Gaza for two years. Economic reforms are proceeding very well across the empire, though tax income from the Holy Lands is still below expectations.

Around the time his father boards the ships and sails west Comgell Canmore takes a wife at Antioch. The power vacuum left behind by the departure of David means that I can treat the Levant as three distinct regions and play their needs against each other. Mac Bethad in Jerusalem is the eldest, but his reputation as a living saint leaves him often at odds with his more practical brothers. With David out of the way the priests, merchants, and castles answer to me, while all construction in the cities is sustained by the flow of coin I direct. Truly now all of Scotland is in my hands, and David the Mad Saint is so oblivious he fells blessed to be going on Crusade.

Meanwhile Farquar Canmore, Eion's son, comes of age at Caernarvon and Gille Coimded Canmore comes of age at Edinburgh. Farquar shares his father's political isolation, though the boy is more flexible, and so he may be of some use. Gille is just a head to hang a hat on. If I cannot convince Donnchadh to go east to Helsinki perhaps this one will sail. The Hungarians are excommunicated. An army under a trusted captain slowly marches west to besiege Alexandria, where the Egyptians are thin. With David at sea my plans proceed easily for the next two years.

Milan and Portugal sign an alliance. Since neither of them are affiliated with our allies they present a potential rival, especially if David can capture Palermo. Both will have to be watched. At last, though, I have discovered a cause to sweep my dear brother Malcom out of my hair. He is to take the mass of the soldiers at Antwerp south to join the Crusade on Palermo. The poor fool, he was actually overjoyed when the letter reached him, and prevailed upon me to give his most profuse thanks to the King, to whom he feels immense loyalty.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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North of Jerusalem Mac Bethad wipes out an Egyptian army to few losses. Ransom on the prisoners is refused.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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West of Gaza a few Muslims have risen in rebellion against our rule. The local captain, left behind from David's crusade army, takes the field against them. Losses are significant, but the border is still well held given what we know of the Egyptian armies.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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Two more years pass in peace and prosperity. So long as David is on crusade there is no one in the realm who can effectively defray my control of the empire. The Sicilians send a princess to beg Prince Cennedig for a truce. We ask only for Durazzo and Ajaccio, lands we mean to take anyway, in return but Princess Elizabeth refuses, as expected. At Caernarvon Eion establishes a Theives' Guild without my explicit permission, but the treasury will stand the expense and so he is allowed to proceed without seeing the bit that might have drawn him short. Diplomatic contact is established with the Mongols. We provide them copies of our maps including notes on what information we have of Turkish troop deployments. Let us hope those two bleed each other dry and are weakened for the inevitable conflict with us and the rest of Christendom.

David's crusade is near Palermo, but he wishes to establish a base in the region first. Palermo is held by two large Sicilian armies, and if it should be necessary to fall back and resupply his armies Tripoli will make an excellent spot for it. Additionally the castle is held by the Egyptians, so capturing it will weaken his old enemies and strengthen his position. Arriving in the area he discovers a small group of the enemy camped outside the walls and immediately assaults them. When the tiny garrison rushes out to reinforce them both are destroyed and the castle is sacked.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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One company of highland archers is left to secure the place while David takes the four thousand florins captured in the sack and sails on for Palermo.

The siege cannot begin yet as David calls on every would be Crusader in the area (Author's note: including two companies of mercenary crossbowmen violating the rules before I thought. I disbanded them afterward and they were useless in the battle anwyay, serving only to soak up a charge. They weren't even necessary as the Sicilians had about 400 peasants in their army. If not for the peasants this battle would have been the crowning achievement of my reign. I was too disgusted by the rout of those fine Norman knights because a few peasants ran through their ranks to take screenshots of the end of the battle.) to join his cause against the vile Sicilians. Alas, their King is not here, but the mass of the soldiers are. The coming battle will cripple them.

David remains in camp long enough to assess the strength of the Sicilians carefully. As before at Tripoli he attacks the smaller army encamped outside the walls in a bid to force the garrison out from behind their walls. Bernardo the Honest takes the bait.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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Captain Deo bravely leads a charge against our much large army as we are repositioning to the high ground to cover our reinforcements moving onto the field. A volley of bolts from the crossbowmen does nothing to deter his charge from crashing into their ranks with him at the very head of it.

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Immediately our swarm of infantry envelopes Deo's entire line and our cavalry rides back from their forward position to strike him from behind.

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We lose a great many crossbowmen and pilgrims, but captain Deo loses his life and his entire army.

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Bernardo the Honest has used this opportunity to move into range with his knight heavy force. Alas for Bernardo and his knights their sole reinforcements are nigh on five hundred peasants. The first taste of the lance sends the peasantry scurrying for the hills. When our reinforcements arrive behind his struggling mass of Norman knights they lose heart and follow the peasants leaving their general lying on the field, the last of his army still fighting.

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Having reviewed the documents David sent me I can only conclude that if the Sicilians had sent every one of their peasants home to the farm and instead pulled Captain Deo's spearmen and cavalry into the citadel at Palermo the siege would have lasted twenty years or more, or at least until one of our ally's crusader armies came to join the siege. As it is enough Normans escaped the battlefield to draw the siege out for some time. In addition I have sent David orders to allow Malcom to reach Palermo before he proceeds with the attack. Malcom is so vacantly unaware of the true situation that he again sent a letter of gratitude to the King for asking David to wait. I was wrong about the threat he might've presented, all I had to find was the right scent to lead him by the nose.

In any case the Sicilians refused to pay ransom on the prisoners from the battle and so David the Mad Saint put nearly five hundred of them to the sword, including over a hundred and fifty Norman foot knights. The power of Sicily in the world is utterly broken. At Gaza an Egyptian general named Saladin launches a siege with three hundred soldiers. Captain Aed leads the garrison in a sally while Mac Bethad sends reinforcements from Jerusalem under captain Gawain to aid him.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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As the garrison advances slowly into range for an arrow duel against the enemy horse archers their reinforcements arrive. When losses begin to mount among the mounted archers Saladin withdraws them behind the farm west of the Gaza road. This is just the advantage captain Aed has been looking for, and he surges forward with the farm's stone wall to secure his flank. Unfortunately he mistimes his attack such that his highland noble contigent is ahead of the main body and subject to a charge from the Egyptian heavy cavalry.

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The Highlanders are ill suited to this type of combat and take heavy losses before reinforcements reach them, but Saladin has made a dramatic mistake. All of his cavalry are commited here, including his own bodyguard, and captain Aed surrounds them before his Highlanders break. Soon Saladin is dragged from his horse and dismembered, breaking the remnant of his cavalry's will to fight and leaving his spearmen leaderless.

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Our advance traps the two spear companies unformed and unable to support one another. They rout quickly and are chased from the field alongisde their remaining ranged support. Only the last few of the Egyptian heavy cavalry have rallied and returned to the battle.

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Unfortunately they very cleverly slip behind our lines by racing around the farm house to catch our peasant archers exposed and unprotected. Their charge kills dozens of the peasants, but as soon as the spearmen reinforce them the enemy cavalry surrenders.

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Captain Aed's garrison force is substantially reduced, but can be brought back to full strength in reasonable time. Again the Egyptians decline to pay ransom on their soldiers, who then join Saladin's corpse in the desert.

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Two more years see the second decade of my rule come and go as Malcom marches south across Europe and uses David's fleet to sail to Ajaccio to lay siege. The Scottish Empire runs smoothly and well. Many impressive new structures are built across the realm. The Venetian Doge is excommunicated. This current Danish Pope is not only young, he is vengeful and unforgiving. We are fortunate to be on his good side, and I intend to keep us there. Aod of Clair comes of age, another useless young noble that I must find some purposeful task for, and, alas, our senior Cardinal passes away. Colin the Peaceful served his nation well and will be mourned.

East of Gaza yet more Muslim rebels spring up and must be dealt with. Captain Gawain, Aed's second at Gaza, is sent out to bring them to battle.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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Under a blood red sky doughty Scottish militia form a wall to absorb arrows during a ranged duel. In the end the enemy's horse archers retreat and his infantry advance uphill against us.

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Moments after they engage with the spearmen highland nobles crash their flanks and set them fleeing. These filthy Muslim rebels have no heart for battle.

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As his army disintegrates around him a Border Horseman spits the rebel captain through the back. In abject panic his men begin a general rout. The battle is soon over.

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At Tripoli, however, there is more trouble with Muslim rebels. Captain Donnchadh leads the small garrison force out to battle.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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Using the light tree cover our Border Horsemen creep near the rebel formation. As soon as they are noticed they charge the Nubian archers and scatter them, but spearmen quickly reinforce the archers and kill no few of the cavalry.

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As the cavalry retreat the spearmen attempt to follow. Meanwhile the swordsmen and the remaining archers advance on our highland archer company. They suffer heavy losses at range before attempting to make a direct assault lead by their captain. Hearing our border horse charging his rear the rebel captain turns, perhaps just to look, perhaps to try to give orders. In any case no words leave his lips as a Highlander staves in his head at precisely that moment. The swordsmen rout and take the archers with them, what few can escape our fast cavalry.

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The spearmen, having just managed to make their way back to the main battle, engage the highland archers before they can get off more than a single volley of arrows. Despite having superior numbers they too flee, however, when the border horse return and charge their rear. Few of the enemy escape.

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At Alexandria captain Gordon proceeds with his assault on the city. A general named Al-Assel and his bodyguard are the only armed force within, though a few more are camping beyond the range of our siege lines. The battle is absurdly uneventful as Al-Assel surrenders and goes into exile rather than fight for his countrymen. The Egyptians outside the walls retreat and flee to Cairo.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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Six thousand Egyptian citizens die in Al-Assel's place when captain Gordon releases his men to sack Alexandria. Eighteen thousand florins are taken. Mac Bethad the Saint lodges a protest from Jerusalem over the slaughter, and 'King Alexander' sends him a letter assuring him that Gordon acted without orders and will be relieved of command. The poor fool is satisfied with that just as I am satisfied with the gold we took and the almost completely intact new city, though races must be held there to keep the remaining peasants happy.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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So ends the second part of my accounting. I have been greatly pleased with progress so far, and I am increasingly able to turn the most hideous tasks of caring for King Alexander over to trusted, and well payed, servants. Since I control essentially all communication traffic in the northern empire I can be quite certain that no rebellion is being fomented here, and western Europe as a whole is remarkably peaceful, largely as a consequence of my own personal efforts. I struggle to guard against arrogance, but quite frankly I am one of the most powerful men in the world even though few outside my family have ever heard my name.

A Secret Account of the Last Years of the Reign of King Alexander the Mad of Scotland.

At Ajaccio Malcom Forester leads his Crusaders against the Sicilian King.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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The castle at Ajaccio is very impressive and an assault under fire would be exceedingly difficult. Fortunately the foolish King Tizrano has no archers, nor even infantry of any kind, within the walls. This means we can easily use a single ladder team to scale the walls and throw open the gates without doing any damage to the castle.

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Malcom's Crusaders are eager to bring King Tirzano to justice. They form a thick line across the street while crossbowmen pepper the enemy guardsmen with bolts from afar. Meanwhile the mounted Crusader Knights form up on a second street perpendicular to this one, ready to cut the King off from his town square.

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Such does not prove necessary, however, as King Tirzano's courage exceeds his skill. His bodyguard kills a great many of the spearmen and knights, but as Malcom reports they happily gave their lives in the cause of the Lord.

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The Sicilians pay the ransom on the twenty captured knights.

Immediately Malcom sends word to the Pope in Rome that Ajaccio is to be a gift for the Papacy. This was not a move that I approved, but neither was it displeasing for me except in Malcom's assertion of independence. Relations with the Pope couldn't be better and Ajaccio was quite likely to be just another drain on our resources, so I make certain to issue a proclamation in King Alexander's name claiming full credit for the idea and praising Malcom for his attention to duty.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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Malcom then sails on towards Palermo to join David in the siege.

The realm is otherwise peaceful and profitable for two years. Our Theologian's Guild at Edinburgh is upgraded at some expense. The Pope asks that we convert more of the people of the Adana region to Catholocism. I intend to see his will done, but the priests will have a long road ahead of them before they can even start their work. The Danes submit to the Poles and become their subjects. I had expected the English to complete their conquest of Danish land but the Poles very cleverly moved first. They will bear watching as their borders edge closer to our own. The Venetian Doge is reconciled with the Papacy. At Palermo David the Mad Saint and Malcom Forester proceed with their combined assault against the pitiful remnant of the Norman army.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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David dedicates a ram and a team of spearmen to push it to Malcom's otherwise ill prepared forces to the west before launching his attack on the lightly defended southern walls.

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Crusader knights on horseback rampage through the streets setting every Sicilian to flight. At the inner keep spearmen push a ram into place and bash aside the gate while dismounted knights scale ladders to engage the Norman knights on the wall. As soon as the gate is down Malcom's Templars rush forward.

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As they capture the square they also catch and kill the Sicilian captain. The battle is nearly over.

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On the walls, though, the last Norman knights put up a spirited resistance. This fortress will be ours, they are only delaying the inevitable, but still there is a certain nobility in their doomed act of defiance. Nobility, though, does not stop swords.

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In the end the last few Normans surrender and Palermo is ours. The Sicilian Crusade is at an end.

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David occupies Palermo peacefully; the people have suffered enough during the long siege. The Pope awards us two thousand and five hundred florins, and the experience of these battles was invaluable to the men of Malcom and David's commands. The armies are now consolidated and mercenaries are dismissed. Having sent ships to scout the area Malcom believes that the Sicilian's final redoubt is at Durazzo, and he proposes to David that he take the majority of the whole companies and sail there. David is so pleased with the idea that he gives Malcom the Holy Chalice he took from the Levant to carry with him on this holy quest. Malcom gathers the ships and sails east.

Two years pass while he sails, years of unparalleled prosperity for Scotland. The construction of new buildings is a boom industry, the nobles are very wealthy and very pleased, and even my father has stopped pressing me to advance his cases with the King. The Scots are a busy and industrious people under my helmsmanship. Alexandria erects their own Theologian's guild, giving us the ability to train excellent priests at both ends of the empire. Gille Coimded Canmore, King Alexander's second son, accedes to his father's wishes and sails east to Helsinki. I had hoped to send Donnchadh, but I have discovered something much better to use as leverage against him. I have no wish to write of his hideous secret, but suffice to say he will do as he is told. My wife bears me a daughter, the slop swilling sow, and she is named Bethac after my grandmother.

An English Cardinal dies and one of our own, James of Aberdeen, takes over his seat in the College. A witch is discovered travelling through the lands around Antwerp. The priests are dispatched from Edinburgh via ship to try her for heresy. Even more troubling some rebels have taken up arms near Inverness and are camped on a steep mountain slope. Who are these fools? Are they men that Malcom left behind to bedevil me, or just an army he was training in secret to use before he was pulled into the crusade? It will cost me time and attention with the King, but I must investigate this matter personally. Edinburgh and Inverness begin training soldiers to deal with the insurrection.

The years are eventful but pass quickly. Two more sees Venice surrendering their independence to Hungary and the Byzantines striking the Sicilians, perhaps hoping to capture Durazzo before Malcom can arrive. Another Scottish priest is promoted to Cardinalhood. Captain Morgunn and his hard drinking men lead an expedition out of Gaza towards Cairo and encouter an Egyptian general named Nasser the Honest on the road.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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Nasser brings four trebuchet to battle against the Scottish captain, but Morgunn has brought Border Scouts just for such a problem. When Nasser leaves the crews exposed the horsemen sweep in like lightning and destroy them. Their aim was atrocious, so poor that not a single Scot was so much as singed.

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The Egyptian general is enraged when his trebuchet cease firing. He orders a foolish charge by his light cavalry and horse archers, supported by the slower mass of his infantry.

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As soon as the lines of infantry engage the enemy begins to crumble. These men are ill suited to an assault, and their general is still hanging back uncertainly. When the first company of Egyptian spearmen routs Nasser rides forward to try to shore up morale. His charge kills a great many Scots, but leaves him extremely vulnerable. His bodyguard is completely encircled.

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Nasser panics and orders his men to flee. His infantry are already in flight, but the Border horsemen are redirected from harrying them off the field to return to the main line and chase Nasser. Before he can escape the field they catch him and force him to surrender his sword, effectively ending the battle.

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Captain Morgunn demands a very reasonable ransom for Nasser and the other prisoners but the Egyptians refuse to pay. Nasser and his men pour their blood into the sand by the side of the road as Morgunn rides on towards Cairo.

West of Durazzo near the heel of Italy Malcom's fleet is attacked by a large Egyptian fleet. As the Egyptians burn their way through the Scottish ships Malcom's troop transports flee eastward and escape. The remaining Scottish ships in the area are all redirected to Malcom to reform his fleet and attempt again to sail to Durazzo.

Two years pass, and good news at last out of the Levant. Catholicism's first great Cathedral has been completed at Damascus, the first of many great works to come. On the heels of that news, though, comes news of a worse sort. David the Saint refuses to surrender Palermo or Tripoli to the Papacy and will not build ships to return to the Levant. Indeed his fiery note suggests that he feels insulted and severely disrespected that the King would ask this of him. Palermo is his destiny, as he puts it, and he has little desire to ever leave the citadel he is building there. I had hoped he could be convinced to pass the last years of his life at sea with little influence over events, but it seems I must either use blunt force to drive him back east or give him his head to remain in that dangerous spot, like a rabid dog at the throat of Rome. A 'Saint' he may be, but he is also utterly insane and unpredictable. Better not to create conflict where one may not be necessary.

In the homelands Agnes Canmore, grande dame of the Canmore clan, passes away peacefully. Karia the witch is executed near English Bruges. Captain Ranald at last brings the rebels near Inverness to battle. Inferior in number our men are, nonetheless, dramatically superior in quality.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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The rebels leave their archers exposed just enough for a solid cavalry charge to clear them away entirely. Then the infantry marches slowly forward. As the lines crash together the rebel commander sees that he is needed at the front. When his men commit to the melee our own cavalry return and smash into them from behind.

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The battle is instantly over as almost the whole rebel army panics and surrenders.

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Every single rebel is put to death by quartering, and their parts are paraded through the backwoods and villages as testament to the fate of any insurrection. Captain Ranald reports to me personally that none of the rebels knew who funded their training, but many of them had rumors of one of the King's sons being displeased with their father. It cannot be Cennedig, who is still besotted with his French princess and well entrenched running Antwerp. Gille is at sea, and Alexander's third son is still a beardless boy. No, it must be someone else. Eion and his son have been very quiet at Caernarvon, but it's easy to be quiet when no one wishes to hear you speak. David's sons in the Levant are too far away to effect this without my knowledge. That leaves Donnchadh. I will have to watch him more closely, and perhaps introduce him to the concept of blackmail.

South of Cairo captain Morgunn's scouts discover an Egyptian army outside the city walls. Morgunn's attack is supported by a few reinforcements from Alexandria, and though losses are significant the road to Cairo is cleared and the siege begins.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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Malcom's second attempt to reach Durazzo also ends in a costly defeat at sea. Several ships are sunk though Malcom's own men once again fortunately escape on a transport. I am secretly pleased at the difficulties Malcom is encountering. The longer he is kept busy the less likely he is to attempt to return north to bedevil my rule. I am very pleased with the progress our nation has made under my hands. King Alexander is almost completely unecessary as the functionaries now know very well who carries the authority of the King. I have been able to turn his care and feeding completely over to a reliable team of servants, and my reign looks to continue for as long as I can keep him hale and clean enough to sit on the throne and impress the rubes every few days.

A Secret Account of the Last Years of the Reign of King Alexander the Mad of Scotland.

In a bewildering turn of events the Hungarians declare war on Sicily which causes the Venetians to declare their independence from Hungary. Without a good spy network in the region it's difficult to tell what this turn really means. Malcom arrives at Durazzo and lays siege by simply evading the Egyptians along the coastline. He recruits some mercenary ships and sends them to seek battle with the remaining Egyptian ships. Two more Scottish priests ascend to the College of Cardinals. At Cairo Captain Morgunn wakes up from a late night of partying and leads the assault on the city walls of Egypt's capital.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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As usual ladder teams rush heavy infantry to the walls while the ram advances on the gate. Not quite as usual the sole ram prepared for this attack is set aflame by burning Egyptian arrows and must be abandoned.

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Victory on the walls will be the only way to throw open the gates. Captain Morgunn urges his swordsmen on up the ladders in droves where they butcher Saracen militia archers and spearmen.

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The fighting is brief but bloody. The small Egyptian infantry presence was no match for Morgunn's foot knights. Flush with his apparent victory Morgunn leads his Border Horse retinue straight to the town square. Unfortunately the Egyptians still have a substantial cavalry presence there. Captain Morgunn's unfortunate drinking habit now has serious consequences as his cavalry are strung out, isolated, and outmatched far from their infantry support. A Mamluk mace takes Morgunn in the throat as his veteran horsemen die vainly around him. The Border Horse are all killed, but a few Mailed Knights escape to carry word to the infantry of Morgunn's fall.

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The infantry are weary and depleted, but they are Scots. They proceed with an assault on the town square, neutralizing the Egyptian ballista and surrounding their mighty general, Najm ad Din.

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At last only Najm himself remains of the Saracens defending Cairo. He is a mighty man with a powerful steed. A dozen foot knights spend their lives on his sword.

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In the end, though, he is only a man. The knights drive him back against the strewn corpses of his guardsmen where his horse cannot dance clear. As soon as the Egyptian steed sits still for a moment the foot knights fall on Najm ad Din and drag him down. When he draws a dagger and cuts one of them on the arm the rest stab him viciously and cut off his head.

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Cairo is ours. So falls Egypt's capital city. They have only two crude outposts remaining to them, a trading post at Jedda and a small castle at Dongola. In due course these two will fall. Seven thousand Egyptian peasants die in the unruly sack of Cairo, and twenty thousand florins pour into our coffers from her streets. Morgunn's men mourn him, and make the locals pay for his death.

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I can discover nothing further about the plot that put those cursed rebels in the hills above Edinburgh. It vexes me greatly, and the normally smooth function of the Kingdom is also affected. Funds are plentiful, but a few structures are started late or have to be restarted around the empire in the next two years. The Explorer's Guild wishes to place their headquarters at Jerusalem. I approve their request for funds happily. Such a guild can only improve the reputation of Scotland in the world at large.

My wife bears me another daughter. If the wench cannot produce me a son soon I will have to take a lover to get an heir. East of Helsinki a former Danish general is in rebellion. I would be only too happy to leave him for the Danes to deal with, except that they are departing these lands as Gille arrives to take command there. The boy will have to take what soldiers he has against this rebel.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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Gille is able to pinch the rebel crossbowmen between the border horsemen and his own guards. Few of them escape.

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The infuriated rebel general rides forward against Gille's infantry, but is frustrated by the pike wall.

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Lightly armed Viking Raiders foolishly attempt to chase down Gille's cavalry. Gille will not be taunted into giving them battle, and the highland archers burn many of the enemy.

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The formerly Danish cavalry find a seam in the pike formation and exploit it. Their general is a mighty warrior, he carves a path into the pikes and lays about him cruelly. Errant arrows from the Highlanders set a few pikemen aflame as well.

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At last Gille returns to the main line with the Border Horse. Vasilii cannot extract himself from the pikemen fast enough to escape. Gille personally stabs him through the shoulder, and a pikeman smashes his head with the butt of a long spear when he falls from his horse. The rebellion is over.

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At Durazzo Malcom makes his assault.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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Once again the Scottish ram is burned before it can crack the south gate. Fortunately Malcom has built a second one and it rapidly smashes down the west gate and lets it's crew into the city. Malcom and his cavalry race to reinforce them.

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At the southern walls the ladder teams ascend to do battle with the Sicilian spearmen. The main purpose of this attack is to keep them tied down and unable to resist Malcom's advance through the west gate to the square.

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At the west gate the knights who pushed the ram intercept some more Sicilian spearmen while Malcom's Templars and Crusader Knights push into the city and make for the square.

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At the town square they face Gano Prignano and his personal bodyguard. Though numbers favor the Scots in this battle, Gano's guard is hardy and fights well. At the walls the butchery continues. There are fewer of the enemy and more Scots on the walls, but the fighting is slow going.

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Gano Prignano falls at last to a Templar's sword signalling the end of significant resistance to Malcom's attack. The Crusader Knights were killed almost to a man, and the Templars also took heavy losses.

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Malcom occupies Durazzo, which displeases the nearby Venetians, with the intent of repairing the city and turning it over to the Pope in good condition. The Sicilians are destroyed. Their King was not here, but he is now King of nothing. A Scottish Cardinal will replace theirs in the College.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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This is a great victory for Scotland, but it is followed by a great horror. A drunken King Alexander gathered his wit sufficiently to command on pain of death that the servants I set around him leave his presence. Before they could warn me he had put on his pathetic ornamental armor, mounted a horse and ridden for the crossing north east of Dublin.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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In a terror I saddled my own horse and took off in desperate pursuit, but it was too late. King Alexander ordered a fisherman out of his leaky skiff, marched his horse aboard and insisted that the poor peasant help him cast off. I was in time to see the King's horse struggle up out of the icy water, but of the King himself there was no sign. I immediately turned a baleful eye on the fisherman, but showing more intellect that I would have expected in him the man drew my attention to the dozen or so of his fellows plying their trade nearby. They had all seen the King sink silently into the water atop his horse, and I could not kill them all without introducing more leaks than are possessed by the foul, capsized boat which was already drifting back towards shore.

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I am undone! Cennedig may be a fool, but he is not a decrepit madman. There will be no managing him. I have ample gold and estates to retire to, but having taken this taste of power it is unimaginable to let it pass from my hands. I can see the course of things now. Cennedig will send me a note of his most profound gratitude for having cared for Alexander for so long, and in closing will ask how long before the crown arrives in Antwerp.

My very blood boils at the vile thought of surrendering Scotland to the incompetent get of mad Alexander!

Perhaps there is one avenue of power I have left. Cennedig has no son, so he must name an heir from the family. If I can get that position for myself there will be only one death between me and the actual assumption of the throne. First, though, how to explain the day's events to the new King without getting my neck in a noose...

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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As the year progresses King Cennedig is annointed at Edinburgh, but returns quickly to his wife at Antwerp. My explanation of the King's death did not best please the boy, but the power I hold amongst the nobles and the sheer information at my disposal left Cennedig with no choice but to officially thank me and acknowledge my fool brother his heir! His speech spoke of the dedication of Edmund Canmore's sons, but also of the need for a clear bloodline to the throne. Donnchadh is that line, while I, by virtue of only having married into the family, am not.

Cleverly done Cennedig, but you know nothing of Donnchadh. I have sufficient influence left to assure his ruin. With Malcom far from home, Eion and his boy still a political sideshow, and David's line well isolated in the Levant I will be the only logical choice remaining. Gille is in Helsinki, and Cennedig could not so elevate one of his own brothers for fear that they might usurp the crown. No, it must be me, it will be me! Bending the King of England to my will with a promise of coin and an old letter from 'King Alexander' I prevail upon him to marry his most beautiful daughter, Lucia, to Donnchadh. Now it is only a matter of time.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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For the nonce the world continues to turn. Two more years pass. Cennedig consults me on some decisions, and wisely holds true to the course I laid for Scotland, but still I chafe under his command. The only good news is that my doe eyed and doughy bodied wife has finally delivered me a son. I have named him Cormac Feniss, after my grandfather. Already there are dry whispers about Donnchadh's relationship with his wife. There is peace throughout the lands as Cennedig consolidates his power and gains an understanding of the state of things.

Two more interminable years drag by, and Cennedig is proving to be a competent if unexceptional administrator for Scotland. The treasury is adequate and construction proceeds apace. All of this is residue from the policies I set in place, though, and cannot last. The Theologian's Guild places their headquarters at Edinburgh. The Pope rewards us for converting the people of Adana to Christianity. Plague strikes Dublin, while I, very fortunately, am travelling abroad.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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England declares war on Portugal, and another Scot ascends to the College of Cardinals. Malcom gives Durazzo to the Papacy and departs with the remains of his army on the only leaky boat that could be procured. The Pope is further pleased by the completion of Cathedrals at Alexandria and Jerusalem. The noble council, sensing a new chance to meddle, asks King Cennedig to capture Edessa. Some Muslim rebels are put to the sword north of Adana.

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At last, though, Donnchadh's horrific sin betrays him. His wife, already an angry, dissatisfied, wretch catches him romping in a barn with a foppish and adoring young nobleman.

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The scandal of it is immense. Before word can reach King Cennedig my brother, Prince Donnchadh, throws himself into the sea near the same spot that King Alexander drowned. For a moment I must pause to consider whether or not I have gone mad myself in my pursuit of power. My own brother dead because of my machinations. Perhaps so, but dead also because of his inability to control his unholy urges. Scotland is fortunate he did not become King before his defect was revealed.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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In any event I ride to the docks to sail to Antwerp and discuss my becoming his heir in person. Even as I arrive a beaming messenger departs a nearby ship. To my shock he recognizes me, and announces that King Cennedig's wife has bore him a son!

The final disaster. There can be no recovery from this. I, Kyle Feniss, return to plague struck Dublin to serve out my days administering to the wretched festering sore on the face of the earth that this city represents. The rewards of my stewardship are considerable, but they pale beside the thought of once again holding the reigns of a nation. Eventually I learn that Mac Bethad the Saint in far off Jerusalem holds the temporary position of heir. Fortune favor him in it, for she has certainly cursed me.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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I am still proud of the service I did Scotland in her time of need. Alexander might have been a terrible burden to her, but I saw her through the troubling times. Not selflessly, as some fool monk, but proudly, quietly, and profitably. I will teach my son to be a good thinker, and perhaps someday I will even let him read this and know that, for a time, his old man was the most powerful man in Scotland, if not the world.

The world as it was at the end of my reign:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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(Just to be absolutely clear, the unpleasant things I wrote about Donnchadh's presumed homosexuality represent the imagined opinions of a 14th centery Catholic, not my own.)

:egypt:

placeholder for turns 101-120

Placeholder for turns 133 to 149.

Placeholder for turns 150-166.

An Introduction to the First Stage of the Conclusion of the Period of Barbarism.

It is not my intent to reproduce herein the work of the great Scottish historians of the post barbarism period. Instead my purpose is to introduce the student, in abbreviated form, to the idea of critical mass effects in the broader scope of the spread of Scottish civilization. We are all familiar with the great legacy of our people as the benevolent rulers of the civilized world, and with the later outstanding achievements that aided in the accomplishment of that goal. I speak here of the extermination of the Timirud Horde, the absorption of the remaining members of the Rus Alliance following the lightning conquest of the Chin Empire on their flank, the subjugation of the southern African tribal societies to bring about the Unification of Africa, and the final pacification of the primitives in the deserts and jungles of New Scotland. We all know these tales of glory and triumph, and the names of the mighty Kings who overcame those final bits of resistance against the establishment of a new, Scottish, world order.

What I will teach you about today is, rather, that period of chaos and confusion when the Empire stood on the brink of excommunication and extermination. When nearly every hand in Europe was turned against us, determined to deny their serfs and peasants the benefits of Scottish civilization. First a very brief recap of material you should already be familiar with:

1088-11?: Scotland under King Malcom is a single city, Edinburgh, and the surrounding lands. War with England looms, but the King wisely offers them an alliance instead. Inverness, Dublin, and Caernarvon are annexed to provide income for the war against the French. When the Pope calls a Crusade Scotland sends a mighty army and conquers Jerusalem.

112?-115?: Jerusalem's largely Muslim population rebels, and the crusaders are forced to abandon the city and capture nearby Acre as a base instead. Damascus and Antioch are also soon captured as Scottish power increases in the region. A peace treaty is reached with the French.

116?-120?: War with Denmark, who is excommunicated. Adana and Aleppo are conquered. The Flemish Crusade against Denmark's Antwerp adds that great city to Scotland's conquests.

121?-123?: War with Egypt as Jerusalem is retaken and our gains in the Levant are secured.

124?-128?: King Alexander's undeserved reputation as a madman is so pervasive despite the success of his conquest of the major Egyptian cities and his annihilation of the excommunicated Sicilians that the legendary and mythical 'Secret Account' document is inspired.

1280?-1326: War with the Mongols. Antioch, Aleppo, and Adana are lost. The death of King Cennedig and the ascension of King Mac Bethad the Saint moves the central power structure of Scotland to the Levant.

1326-1376: The Time of Refusal begins under the leadership of Sir Cormac Feniss as the Scottish nobility reject the reforms of the Saint King and cut off cash flow to the Levant. King Mac Bethad the Saint dies attempting to defend his impoverished nation from the armies of the infidel with an soldiery composed solely of peasants and religious fanatics.

1376-1396: King Malcom the Malevolent comes to power. The alliances with England, France, and the Holy Roman Empire are dissolved in exchange for granting them holdings in the Levant, Africa, and Sicily, preperatory to war in Europe. King Malcom dies peacefully having launched the Period of Conquest. King Broccin, last son of Alexander the Mad, comes to power and names Cormac Feniss his successor over the sons of his dead brothers.

1396-1430: Persistant rumors of blackmail and unnatural relations with men drive King Broccin to violent acts such that he becomes known as The Tyrant as he conquers Western Europe despite the dissolution of every Scottish alliance barring the Rus and the constant threat of excommunication. King Broccin dies peacefully under somewhat mysterious circumstances, and Emperor Cormac Feniss the Mighty comes to power.

1430-1510: Europe is subjugated, but a watchful peace is maintained on the steppes with the Rus as they form a buffer against the depredations of the eastern hordes. The Timurid threat is utterly destroyed. Emperor Cormac dissolves the noble council and takes direct control of the Empire. The first expedition to New Scotland ends in disaster, the second through fifth expeditions are organized to establish and expand Cormacstown on the coast of New Scotland.

It is the end of the reign of Broccin the Tyrant that I will examine and elaborate on herein. To wit:

King Broccin was the rebellious son of Alexander the Mad, a successful king in all but name. Broccin was determined to avoid his father's fate, and so he spent his entire life building his empire, sparing no time for a wife or a personal life. The Tyrant King instead adopted many promising young men into his household to prosecute his wars. The year 1410 is a good point to begin this lecture as we have excellent records from the period. By all accounts Broccin the Tyrant was quite abstemious in his personal habits, taking no drink and keeping an immaculate wardrobe. In his public life he was fond of gambling, fine things, and never one to turn down a few extra florins on the side. Scarred in battle, Broccin used the striking facial marks to excellent effect when speaking before crowds. It is said that his words were so convincing he could raise an army of recruits at a convent. His generalship was unquestioned, and he continued to lead armies in the field even after he assumed the throne, which likely contributed to the rumors of a power behind the throne.

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Early in 1410 the Pope declared a crusade against Mongol held Damascus, and Scottish armies in the Levant answered immediately. The brutal sack of Prague later in this year brought an end to the merchant Empire of the Venetians, Venice herself being already in the hands of the Hungarians, but also brought Papal disapproval to a new high. Scotland stood under serious threat of excommunication.

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Then in 1412 tragedy struck Scotland as Mariot Feniss, mother of Cormac Feniss who was destined to become Emperor Cormac, passed away peacefully in Dublin. She had devotedly refused to leave the striken city even after her husband, Kyle Feniss, was felled by the plague there. Mother Mariot, as we know her today, was not sainted until later in the rule of Emperor Cormac, but in her own lifetime her close work with victims of the plague was widely revered. Indeed surviving documents indicate that it was at the instigation of her noble husband, Kyle, that she began such daily tasks. Sadly modern revelations about the nature of disease make it all too clear that her selfless work was likely the very source of the infection that eventually claimed Kyle Feniss' life.

In 1414 King Junien of the French was assassinated in Milan by unknown parties and Prince Hermant the Scarred succeeded him. Some radical scholars claim that Broccin paid for this assassination, but such a depraved act was beneath even the man now known as the Tyrant. In any case it would have been foolish to invite reprisal and denunciation in this manner. The army of peacekeepers under Finguine Canmore remained camped in the hills around the city to prevent French raiders from damaging the surrounding Scottish countryside, but obeyed the strictures of the Pope and did not lay siege to the city. Damascus was recaptured from the Mongols by Edmund the Crusader, dramatically improving the reputation of the Scots with the Papacy. The quick success of Scotland in the crusade creates much resentment in the nations of Europe.

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In 1416 Arhus was captured from the Danes, and an expedition was prepared to sail north for Oslo. Unbeknownst to the army at Arhus, Oslo has rebelled and the Danes no longer have an organized national presence, thus securing the northern flank of the Empire. A large Polish army was discovered lurking near Stettin, and Scottish forces under Prince Cormac are rallied to defend the citadel. Scottish armies are on the march east with King Broccin having assaulted and sacked Thorn and Polish Breslau held under siege by Kyle Makfulchiane. Small Polish forces remain behind the front lines of the war, but captains are left to clear them away.

In 1418 our Russian allies capture Trebizond in the wake of the passage of the Timurid Horde and bring an end to the Turkish Empire. The Timurids are approaching Byzantium's Adana, but so slowly that some records maintain the Byzantines were unaware of them.

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Alexandria rebels against the Frenchman Richart de Nevers, and he abandons the city to march east against Scottish held Gaza. It is instructive to observe that even as their cities collapse around them the barbarian French ride away to make war against the Scots.

1420 saw a declaration from the Pope that Scotland's war against the Poles must cease or our reputation with him would suffer significantly. King Broccin, after consultation with Prince Cormac, wisely deciphered that this request was merely a covert way of asking Scotland to top the Polish bribes and orders Breslau taken and a new offensive organized to strike for Krakow. In recompense a Scottish noble named Matad Mar was tried for heresy, but found innocent by the Inquisition after a suitable donation found it's way to the local Dominican chapter house. The Oslo expedition departed for points north, evading a large English fleet east of Arhus. Richart de Never's army was destroyed west of Gaza and his ransom was refused.

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With no French nobility now remaining south of Aleppo, Cairo rebels against her French overlords. Claims that Scottish efforts undermined French control in the region are suspect, it is considerably more likely that French incompetence was the source of the trouble. Mongol Antioch is besieged after a series of valiant battles by Edmund the Crusader to clear the area of small Muslim armies. Pope Datus the Missionary was gifted eight thousand florins to overlook the assault on Hungarian Venice, the sack of which wins Scotland thirty thousand florins. Thus begins the era of swinging Papal missives, dependant upon from whom their latest bribe had been sent.

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Prince Cormac personally leads the attack on the Polish army outside Stetting, and shatters it, putting to the sword one of the few remaining Polish nobles. The future Emperor demonstrated a tactical and strategic brilliance on this day that is still studied in military academies the world over.

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Lachlan of Renfrewshire defends the ford east of Antioch to preserve Edmund's siege, and wins a substantial victory over the Mongols. A battle shrine has been erected on the west bank in his name. By denying the Mongols passage he permanantly denied them control of the area, and signaled the end of Mongol dominances in the northern Levant. Great Mongol armies remained, but they would never again threaten Scottish control of the profitable coastal cities of the region.

1422 brought the Scot-Flemish painter Jan van Eyck to prominence as the inventor of a new, more stable, type of paint. To win his continued support for Scotland's ongoing offensives and the opening of the Portugese front, Pope Datus is offered a further twenty thousand florins as a gift. Relations remain perfect despite the rapid sack of Zaragosa, in which fifteen thousand florins are taken for Scotland.

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The fall of this city signals the opening of the western front and the eventual conquest of Iberia. The period of maximal chaos is at hand, as war spreads on every front except the Italian penninsula. The remaining barbarian nations of Europe attempt to organize a conference to discuss Scotland's waxing power, but the impoverished Spanish and Portugese cannot break past the veteran Scottish fleet under Admiral Roy which is blockading the Moorish capital of Algiers and holding the western Mediterranean closed. A large Hungarian fleet is assembled at Zagreb and sails west, but it will be many years before it can challenge the power of the Scottish. There will be no grand alliance to stop the ascension of Scotland.

(Continued soon)

Edit: Also note I've tried to write this with the 'History is written by the victors' maxim in mind, which is to say Emperor Cormac's approved and persistent version of events may not match, in any way, the actual events recounted by stories yet to come. This account shouldn't be seen as placing any constraints on players before it, as it's a sort of far future look back deal. Think Japan's post WWII account of their conduct in China, or Pol Pot's version of history in Cambodia, etc.

An Introduction to the First Stage of the Conclusion of the Period of Barbarism (Continued).

Now we reach a moment of crucial importance, little appreciated in it's time, but a pivot point in the history of the Empire. King Broccin had adopted a number of young men into his family, generally to serve as commanders at his side in Europe. One of the first was Aodh of Douglas. Unfortunately for Aodh there was a falling out between him and the King late one evening while the adopted son and the King were in the field preparing for the assault on Hamburg. Aodh was seen to flee the King's tent, shirtless and in a considerable disarray. The next morning Aodh of Douglas was ordered to seek a ship to the Holy Lands in all haste and take personal command of an army of the faithful to lead against the Mongols.

Arriving at Gaza after a lengthy journey Aodh found the crusade already well in hand, and before he could reach the walls of Damascus the city had been captured. Aodh could have chosen to hold Damascus, or even to fall back to Gaza, but something drove him on relentlessly and so he marched for Edessa and a climactic battle with the Mongol heir, Khanzada Chagatai and two thousand men. Given the poorly equipped fanatics that comprised the backbone of his army many of his men must have wondered what madness made him press onward, but Aodh was surely driven to seek redemption in the eyes of his Lord and his King.

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Aodh's attack caught the Khanzada completely by surprise, likely because it drove Aodh's men directly into a full encirclement.

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Despite this Aodh rode out with his small contingent of cavalry and challenged Chagatai personally. The Khanzada could do nothing but accept.

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The Mongol general was then encircled himself, albeit on a smaller scale, and after losing almost all of his guardsmen he turned tail and fled like a coward.

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Aodh's men gave chase, eventually trapping Chagatai in a formation of fanatics and bring his life to an end. Khanzada Chagatai was the last heir of the royal line of Mongols that had come west. With their Khan besieged at Antioch the Mongols were now effectively leaderless, and the last great threat to Scottish dominance of the Levant was at an end.

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At his main line, however, Mongol cavalry had penetrated the screen of fanatics and engaged half of his army in close combat. Aodh was forced to ride back and attempt to salvage some order. Eventually the Mongol cavalry was repulsed, and Aodh was able to ride out and run down some isolated Mongol archers.

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This angered the western Mongol army's captain, who launched an attack against the gently rising hill Aodh's men had occupied. Catapult shot rocketed overhead, giving the infantry a shock.

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Again, however, Aodh was able to pin down and challenge the enemy Captain, who was quickly slain in battle.

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The battle surged back and forth across the desert with neither side giving any quarter. Aodh led charge after charge into the broken ranks of the Mongol infantry, who routed and attempted to flee, but not before unhorsing every one of Aodh's loyal retainers. In a fury Aodh gave chase by himself, the last remaining mounted Scot, and was pinned by overwhelming numbers of Mongol spearmen when they found the courage to rally. Though he piled the dead infidels high around his horse, crying 'God and Scotland!' for every Muslim he slew, in the end he was dragged down and dismembered brutally by his enemies.

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The valor displayed by Aodh in his quest for redemption remains very much an inspiration to the people of Scotland to this very day. Exactly why he pressed home this hopeless attack against Edessa is something of a mystery, though the Order of Aodh offers many explanations and some other, less reputable sources, have the temerity to raise again the spector of Broccin's unwed lifestyle. Ultimately, however, the reason for his actions is merely a sideline to the result of his actions; Scotland's rise to dominance spiralled ever upward after this day. The Mongols were the last people to inflict such losses on a Scottish army, the last to sack a Scottish city, and the last to effectively challenge, and push back, Scottish dominance of any region.

The last, until Aodh stood forth and said, 'No more!' And so ended the petty empire of the infidel Mongols, though it cost him his life.

At the moment of his fall a second Mongol army, fresh and emboldened by the death of Aodh, arrived on the right, rear flank of Aodh's remaining forces. The nobles fought to the death defending the hill, but many of the fanatics and lesser levies fled the crushing defeat. Following the battle over a hundred prisoners were released by the Mongols, perhaps to carry stories of their ferocity in defense of Edessa.

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When word of the defeat reached Edmund the Crusader at the walls of Antioch he immediately launched a full assault against the vastly outnumbered garrison of that city. Khan Mongu, a mighty warrior King, was captured in the battle and beheaded in the square afterward. His head was sent east, to Baghdad, where the Mongols reportedly drew lots for who would become the next Khan.

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These two victories closed the rich coastal cities of the Holy Lands to the infidels, and allowed Edmund to defend the choke points around Antioch for many long years against the onrushing Timurids, leading to their eventual destruction. On that black day when Aodh of Douglas rode headlong into a fatal trap, he also sealed the fate of Islam by his sacrifice. In the years to come whenever some well meaning, sympathic hand might seek to mitigate or lessen the prosecution of Muslims for the crimes of their people one need only say, gently, 'Remember Aodh,' and true Scots would stand aside to see proper punishment done. 'For Aodh!' became Edmund the Crusader's battlecry on the Timurid front.

Indeed, down the long decades to the final conversion of the last recalcitrant Muslims it was the Order of Aodh who most vigorously pursued the deep enclaves in the deserts and caves, who sought out and brought to justice their secretive rebels and drug mad death cults. If not for Aodh's sacrifice there might have been an attempt at reconciliation or even accomodation, but after the tale of his desperate, heroic battle for redemption no true Scot could stand aside or ignore the inevitable confrontation with Islam. Securing the remainder of the Levant and holding a simple defensive line against the Timurids also granted Broccin the Tyrant the opportunity to refocus his primary effort on Europe, and crushing the barbarian resistance there.

If not for Aodh of Douglas the full Empire of Scotland may well never have arisen, even with Emperor Cormac to drive it forward.

By the end of 1443 Krakow, the ancient capital of Poland, was under siege.

In 1444 plague struck the garrison at Nuremburg, costing the lives of twenty soldiers but not yet having reached the civilian population. A Timurid diplomat arrives at Antioch with a declaration of war and a note of protest over the treatment of Khan Mongu. Edmund sends back a request for a location where the Timurid generals might like their own heads sent. The Timurids also declare war on Byzantium.

The assault on Krakow moves forward, and Kyle Makfulchiane destroys the defending army and occupies the city peacefully, much to the relief of her citizens.

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The fall of Krakow is widely acknowledged as the end of effective resistance to Scottish rule of Europe. Without Krakow the Polish and Hungarian lines were split and could no longer achieve coordination or reinforcement of one another. Scottish dominance of the seas would go unchallenged, as the Hungarian ports were captured before their fleets could reach Spain. The Moors could not hold out with their entire coastline under blockade, and in the east Byzantium, weakened by hopeless battles against the Timurids, eventually bent knee and became vassals, later to be absorbed into the Empire proper by Cormac the Mighty. There would be many battles yet to come, notably Edmund's impressive defense of Antioch against the immense Timurid hordes, but none of the remaining enemies of Scotland had the organization or coordination to threaten her wider advance.

When, twenty years hence, Pope Pious III, ninth to take up the office in a two year span, came to Edinburgh to beg the Emperor's protection from the terrible pirate raids against Rome all of Europe could be clearly seen to be under Scottish hegemony.

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Final faction info scrolls (I'm terrible at editing images, forgive the mess):

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Overview:

http://lh5.google.com/RosDalton/R2IN.../s800/0164.jpg

Diplomatic:

http://lh6.google.com/RosDalton/R2IN.../s800/0165.jpg

Crosses and overall faction ranking:

http://lh5.google.com/RosDalton/R2IN.../s800/0171.jpg

Population:

http://lh6.google.com/RosDalton/R2IN.../s800/0172.jpg

Financial:

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Territorial:

http://lh4.google.com/RosDalton/R2IN.../s800/0174.jpg

Production:

http://lh6.google.com/RosDalton/R2IN.../s800/0175.jpg

Military:

http://lh3.google.com/RosDalton/R2IN.../s800/0176.jpg

Family tree (Sorry, couldn't hack it up to look right wide):

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Map without FoW:

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Map with FoW:

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The post victory save can be found here:

http://www.totalwar.org/patrons/pbm/Scot172vic.zip