OOC: "The King No More"

KingOfNowhere

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OOC

"The King No More"

IC

PLEASE:

If you have an interest in this role play,
do not post that interest here in the OOC.
Please PM me, the Host. Thanks.​

Wanted: 1 to 3 female(s) to write 3-8 characters total.

Theme: 9th century Viking invasion of England

Full list of characters: link

My characters:

  • Rolf: (profile, portrait); formerly a Danish Viking King, after being betrayed by his Earls and defeated in a months long battle, he is committing himself to self-exile by taking his still-loyal subjects to the east coast of England to reclaim a settlement there that had been given to his grandfather 40 years earlier by the Wessex king of the time.
  • Rolf's brother (as of yet unnamed): an ambitious Earl who had flirted with betraying Rolf but then remained true, he will go with Rolf to England where he hopes to get out of his brother's shadow by establishing his own settlement, fame, and name, possibly by marrying into English nobility or even royalty.
  • An English Noble (as of yet unnamed): he secretly wishes to depose and replace the Wessex's King and might conspire with Rolf and/or his brother to reach his goal of wearing the crown.
  • An English monk (as of yet unnamed): he learned the Danish language while a pilgrim wandering Western Europe before coming home to Wessex, and now as a liaison between the Wessex king and Rolf, he will begin to question his beliefs and, after meeting a shieldmaiden temptress, possibly abandon his vows to finally feel like a real, complete man.
  • There will be other lesser characters, but these will be my main characters initially.
Female character ideas:

  • Rolf's wife, who I think should die at some point or be kidnapped by English.
  • A Viking shieldmaiden who wishes to be Rolf's lover, maybe even his wife (after his current wife's death/disappearance).
  • A Viking slave also with designs on Rolf.
  • A Viking slave or free woman with designs on Rolf's brother, who shares his yearning for individual greatness out from under Rolf's shadow.
  • An enslaved English woman whose future can be discussed.
  • The daughter or granddaughter of the King of Wessex, another King, or a powerful noble who wants to be king, who might marry Rolf or his brother, either willingly or not, to advance her father's ambitions and maybe even her own.
  • A Viking shieldmaiden (or English woman, free or slave, though this would be my second preference) who becomes infatuated with the English monk and leads him away from his vows and into her bed.
  • An English woman (a slave or free woman) who desires to become a shieldmaiden.
  • And I am sure you can probably come up with some of your own ideas.

Plot in general

  • The story is inspired by but otherwise has no other connection to the History Channel's "The Vikings", which I only recently discovered via Amazon Prime Video.
  • The Viking king, Rolf, has been betrayed by his treacherous Earls and defeated in a month's long war.
  • He and his surviving followers flee Southern Denmark for the Eastern shore of England, specifically the Kingdom of Wessex. 40 years earlier, Rolf's grandfather, then a Danish Earl and famed mariner, had been given land along the coast by the Wessex king. The Danes farmed the land in peace for 20 years, naming it Fredilig Gård: "Peaceful Farm".
  • Rolf had been born and raised in Fredilig Gård. His grandfather had returned to Northern Denmark with wealth, power, and fame, and he would soon become king of the southern lands.
  • On his 12th birthday, Rolf made his 3rd visit to his grandfather's kingdom. This time, what should have been a 4 month long visit became an 18 year long stay when the Fredilig Gård was attacked and conquered by the English under their new, Dane-hating king.
  • The Danes of "Peaceful Garden" were killed during the attack, jailed and then executed, sold into slavery, or run off. Some fled to other Danish-controlled areas, most of them hidden deep inland or located along treacherous but protected shorelines of East Central Britain. Many ultimately found their way back east to Denmark, often bringing with them news of the horrors the Britain Danes were suffering.
  • Now, Rolf is returning to claim what is legitimately his by birthright.
 
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"King" Rolf of Fredilig Gård

Images:

  • Portrait shots: pic #1, pic #2.
  • With his Arab advisor, friend, and fellow warrior Ahmed: pic
  • With Ahmed in battle: pic,
  • Coming ashore; unloading the horses: pic.

Locations concerning Rolf:

  • Endersop: capital of his now-defunct Danish kingdom.
  • Fredilig Gård ("Peaceful Farm"):
    • Danish settlement established by Rolf's grandfather, Enrik, 40 years prior to the roleplay's start.
    • Rolf's birthplace, 18 years prior to the roleplay's start.

Family history:

  • Prior to Rolf's birth, his grandfather, Enrik the Mad, established the Danish village of Fredilig Gård, or "Peaceful Farm", in the Kingdom of Wessex, on the eastern coast of England.
  • Rolf was born and raised there. His grandfather returned to Denmark to build his Earldom into a Kingdom, and Rolf's father, Enriksson the Farmer, turned Fredilig Gård into one of the most productive farming/ranching communities in the Kingdom.
  • While Rolf was visiting his grandfather's kingdom, the King of Wessex died, and his Dane hating son attacked and destroyed Fredilig Gård. The Danes there were killed, jailed, enslaved, or run off.
  • Rolf, who had become a feared and well respected Viking warrior, would eventually inherit his grandfather's kingdom. He had wanted to return to Fredilig Gård, but his kingdom was constantly on the verge of war. The closest he would get to "Peaceful Farm" were the seasonal raids along the English coast.
  • Now, at the start of the roleplay, Rolf has been betrayed and defeated by treacherous but powerful Earls.
  • He slips away with his surviving followers and heads for the only place he can: Fredilig Gård.
 
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Characters

Danes who reached Fredilig Gård: 145 (upon arrival)

  • Rolf: Earl
    • Astrid: Rolf's wife
    • Daughter
    • Daughter
  • Karl: Rolf's brother
  • 40 warriors
    • 32 males
    • 8 shieldmaiden
  • 80 free citizens:
    • 14 other males.
    • 29 other females (shieldmaiden).
    • 34 other children.
  • 20 slaves:
    • 7 males (5 belong to Rolf)
    • 13 females (8 belong to Rolf but 6 are "loaned out", mostly as sexual consorts).
 
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Still working on this.


Timeline

Our Vikings don't use calendars to track the passage of time, so the timeline below is based simply upon Enrik the Mad's first trek to England:

Year 0:

  • Enrik reaches England, specifically the Kingdom of Northumbria, on the eastern shores of Northern England.
  • They raid the coastline for 5 months.
  • They face little significant military opposition and win every battle in which they do face opposition.
  • They return to Denmark with great plunder.
  • Enrik becomes renown, as both a leader, a warrior, and a navigator.

Years 0-5:

  • The raids continue each spring.
  • At their height, Enrik leads as many as 20 boats with up to 1,000 men.
  • The 4 English monarchs have built standing armies, yet they are unable to stop the raiding.
  • Paying off the Vikings has become the norm, while -- in a lack of payoff -- the bloody, murderous campaigns continue.

Year 6:

  • Eckart, the King of Wessex, negotiates with Enrik for an end to the raids.
  • Enrik is given 3,000 acres near the eastern end of the Kingdom of Wessex.
  • Enrik brings 200 additional people to England to begin construction on a village.

Year 6-8:

  • There are still the occasional skirmishes between the Danes and English.
  • Each time the English attack Danes, the Danes counter attack or even raid.
  • Eckart begins punishing the English Nobles who are not keeping their people in check.
  • Peace ensues, followed quickly by productive trade.
  • Enrik's eldest son, Enriksson, becomes instrumental in relations between the Danes and English, particularly in the fields of agriculture. He comes to be known by the farmers and even by his own people as Enriksson the Farmer.
  • Within two years, the village is on its way toward being one of the most productive communities in Southeastern England.
  • The Danes have also begun marrying English men and women, and soon enough the first generation of Engelske Vikingerne -- "English Vikings" -- are born to the village.

Year 8 (2nd year of Fredilig Gård):

  • In celebration of peace and goodwill between the English and Danes, Eckart gives the hand of his youngest daughter, Ella, to Enriksson.
  • A ceremony -- including both Pagan and Christian rites -- dedicates the village as Fredilig Gård, or "Peaceful Farm".
  • Enrik declares Enriksson Earl of Fredilig Gård before returning to his own Earldom in Denmark.

Year 12 (6th year of Fredilig Gård): Rolf is born.

Year 24 (18th year of Fredilig Gård):

  • By now, Enrik is a King in Eastern Denmark.
  • Rolf, now 12 years old, makes his 3rd voyage to visit his grandfather, this time in celebration of Enrik's third marriage.
  • Eckart, the King of Wessex, dies. There are rumors that he was murdered, but no investigation or action is taken on this matter.
  • Eckart's son, William, takes the throne.
  • Within weeks, William -- who hates the Danes -- sends his army down upon Fredilig Gård. The village is destroyed and its people butchered; only a small portion of the Danes escape into the wilderness.
  • Enriksson learns of the fate Fredilig Gård from traders who'd meant to do business at the village but only found devastation.
  • Enrik, Enricksson, Rolf and ten boats of seething warriors and shieldmaidens, return to the English shore.
  • Fredilig Gård is nothing but a pile of ash. Skulls of many of the dead -- their flesh picked clean by birds -- are mounted high upon pikes arranged around the village as a warning for the Vikings to stay away.
  • The Vikings spend a month raiding and destroying anything and everything English.
  • But the English are ready and repel the Vikings. The loss in life is horrific on both sides.
  • Some of Fredilig Gård's survivors are found and taken in, but Enrik finally orders his forces home, abandoning his dream.

Year 27 (21st year of Fredilig Gård): Earl Enriksson the Farmer dies.

Year 30 (24th year of Fredilig Gård): King Enrik the Mad dies. Rolf, now 18 years of age, succeeds him as King.

Years 30-40:

  • Rolf sends ships to raid the English coast each season.
  • Rolf himself, though, doesn't go to England. He rightfully chooses to remain behind to rule his Kingdom.
  • Each season, he gets one or more reports on Fredilig Gård, learning that it is again a farming community, though, not nearly on the scale of which it had been under his grandfather and father's direction.

Year 40 (36th year of Fredilig Gård):

  • Rolf is betrayed and his kingdom destroyed.
  • He and his surviving family, friends, and followers flee toward England, intending to find and reestablish Fredilig Gård.
  • It is late in the season, and they will be alone and on their own … assuming they make it at all.



A New Timeline

Year 0 of the new timeline:

  • To make things easier to follow, I'm beginning the timeline from Zero again.
  • Year 40 of the previous timeline is this year, 0 of the new.
 
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