Stories thread - King of the Romans PBM

[Stig]

Thorn, 1238

Count of Thorn, that's not the most sought-after job. Ansehelm, the man who had the job, would absolutely agree with that. The last couple of years he had been busy in and around Thorn. Multiple enemy armies had been raiding the countryside. In 1232 and 1233 Ansehelm had been on a campaign to destroy two small Polish armies around Thorn itself. He and his knights had destroyed a small army that sieged the near to unprotected Thorn, and he then took one of his regiments and destroyed the second one. In 1236 he destroyed a Russian Horsemen Army that layed siege to Thorn and this very year he lead the Franconian Household Army to a victory over another big Russian army.
And next to all that he had the internal politics in the Reich to take care off. There had been big arguments in the Diets and in the summer months Ansehelm travelled to Rome to join the great politicians of the Reich.

Now things however turned to normal again, if they can even be called normal. Ansehelm hardly knew this. He had lived in the far north for all his life. He was born in Frankfurt, but at the age of 6 he beceame a Page to the old and jolly knight Karl von Bremen and he moved to Bremen at the North Sea coast. Soon after he moved with Karl to Stettin where he became a squire at the age of 14. When he came of age he lived in Thorn and at the normal age of 21 he was knighted.
He was used to the north and liked the long cold winters. He enjoyed staying at Schloss Folklung, his own personal estate which was converted to a small castle. There he had many servants, he could enjoy hunts in the abondoned forests of Prussia, he had good food and pleasant company. He often brought in great storytellers and jokers to enjoy him and his friends.
During the summers however he hardly ever was at Folklung, he travelled to Rome which took several months when he could, but often he was busy in his province, which he called Prussia. The last 20 years he only managed to visit Rome twice. And he certainly did not like what he saw, both time he had only been in Rome for nothing more then 2 weeks, but already he saw the Italian nobles enjoying their good and peacefull life. That was nothing for him. Rome was too hot for his liking, he liked the rough life he lived in the north. In Rome he was seen as something strange, something weird. After the almost 4 month travel to Rome he often looked like a viking with a beard, and he didn't fit in with the good looking Italians. No, Ansehelm didn't like Rome, but he had to come there every once in a while.
In the north he could enjoy himself, people where different there, used to a hard life and long winters. There was always something to do in the summer. If not in Folklung Ansehelm could go to Thorn itself or any of the little surrounding hamlets. But more importantly the summer was the season of war. That was when the Poles and the Russians came, when they sacked the countryside, and when Ansehelm dispatched the little forces he had to drive them back. From time to time the Poles and Russians send more than 20 men across the border, and that was when big action was needed. Ansehelm himself fully led 3 battles, and helped his brother Peter winning a fourth one. But it seemed the enemy kept coming. Ansehelm, against his true will decided to execute 600 prisoners, so that they would not fight another day. This for Ansehelm was one of the toughest decisions he ever made, but he was happy that he could atleast make a decision.

Now Ansehelm camped with the Franconian Household Army, the year 1238 AD, and time was moving on...