This is the OOC for a thread set in Sub-Roman Britain, during what a "historical" Arthurian period might have been like. No magic, no Middle Ages accouterments, no Merlin or Lancelot (at least so far...if you have an idea, I'm open). If you are interested, feel free to post here or PM me with what you're interested in. Note: other than the title, this has no relation to the video game Dark Age of Camelot, which I have in fact never played.
In character thread here.
Current players:
-Magbeam: Artorius (King Arthur)
-TinyDuchess: Guanhumara (Guinevere)
-Lady_Mornington: Morgana (Morgan le Fey)
-MelancholyBaby: Nimue
-Britwitch: Medraut (Mordred)
-Daedalus_x: Aeldredd the Blue (original)
Background:
Britannia, 494 AD. Since Emperor Honorius granted the island provinces self-rule in 410, and the revolt of the Saxons against Vertigernus in 460, the tribes of savages have slowly pushed the final remnants of Western Roman society westward, growing stronger as more and more migrate from the mainland each year. Not the proud and divided Vertigernus, nor the noble Ambrosius Aurelianus, or the near-savage Uthyr were able to completely stem the flow.
Until now.
The Saxon hordes of Bretwalda Aelle have just been defeated by the Romano-British army of Artorius Ambrosianus, Dux Bellorum, in a days-long siege at Mount Badonicus that, for all the blood spilled, ensured a final victory for the forces of Roman Christianity over Germanic paganism in the war for Britannia. Leaderless, without their bretwalda to unite them and having had to agree to a humiliating peace, the Saxon tribes have turned on each other, thegns fighting for the right to scrabble for their remaining territory with thousands more streaming back across the German Sea from an island that suddenly has become too crowded for their taste. Alone, without exception among the entire territory of what was once the Western Roman Empire, the Romano-British have held their own - and repulsed - the Germanic invaders.
All thanks to one man.
Artorius Ambrosianus, the son of Uthyr and Ygerna - although some claim that his true father was Uthyr's brother and his namesake, Ambrosius Aurelianus; others claim that it was Ygerna's first husband, Gwrlais, the Dux of the Cornovii; and still others, especially since the victory at Badonicus, claim he was sent by Providence itself. Officially, Artorius is an equal to the other chieftains and principes of the tribes and civitates of the Romano-British, directly ruling only over the tribe of the Silures from his fortress, the old Roman legionary fort of Isca Silirum now termed Caerleon. However, his real authority comes from his position as Dux Bellorum, the war leader; he commands his own personal cavalry squadron supported by taxes sent from the other princedoms of Britannia, and during times of war commands their war hosts also. It was in that capacity that Vertigernus and Ambrosius and Uthyr served; originally, it was subservient to a council of elders, but after the purges of the Saxon revolt, and the brutality of Uthyr in suppressing dissent, few are the men who would now speak out against the wish of the Dux Bellorum.
Artorius' uncle Ambrosius was termed 'the last of the Romans'; descended from an ancient family originally from Italy itself, and with his younger brother Uthyr rejecting his heritage to embrace the native Brythonic culture that is increasingly emerging revitalized, he was seen as the last of the ruling class to cling to the Roman civilization that they were now cut off from. Artorius has attempted to reverse that trend, using his popularity and office to propagate his views. He refers to his cavalry squadron not as the Combrogi, the Brythonic 'Companions', but rather as the Artoriani, after the Roman general Lucius Artorius Castus who established it originally and who he was named after - and whose name he uses instead of the Brythonic variant of Artuir. He styles himself a tribune rather than a tribal king, Britannia rather than Prydain, and the Dux Bellorum rather than his father's variant Pen Dragon. He prefers (his admittedly-spotty) Latin to the (admittedly-similar) Brythonic and clings to the Church of Rome as opposed to the more relaxed variant of Brythonic Christianity springing up. Patricius himself served as his spiritual advisor until his death a year before Badonicus, and at the battle Artorius' troops carried the True Cross and icons of Sancta Maria painted on their shields. He secretly desires to proclaim himself Imperator, and sees his victory at Badonicus as the first step to reforming the Western Roman Empire, with an expedition to Gallia or Hibernia obvious second stages.
His Romanizing trends are supported by his wife, Guanhumara. A young girl she is oldest (legitimate) child of Leo, king of the strategically important Dumnonii tribe. A man as harsh as he is a harsh bargainer, he would not devote his troops from his long border with the Saxons for Artorius' final campaign without a suitably appealing possibility of return to offset the risk. Guanhumara and Artorius were wed a year ago, one of the last acts undertaken by the devout Patricius before his death. Still far from being a woman and with the presence of her father looming over her, she attempts to hide her fear behind her omnipresent faith in the God who has delivered her husband his exalted position.
Though Britannia is in a golden age since the victory over the Saxons, Artorius is far-seeing enough to know that it will not last. His chancellor, Gaius, and his marshal, Bedwyr, are the two closest companions to Artorius and the two seniormost officers of the Artoriani, and thus his government administration. However, they come from relatively humble backgrounds and have little recognition of their own, despite being his friends since childhood, while the other Brythonic chieftains - Leo, Urien of Rheged, Marcus Cunomorus of the Cornovii, Melwas of Glastening, Vortiporius of the Demetae, Leudonus of the Orcades - are exactly the type of ruler who would ruin the gains he has made. But with no child of his own, or even male relative, Artorius has begun to worry, even though he is in the prime of his life in the mid 30s.
His one surviving relative, at least known (for Uthyr was notoriously profligate), is his half-sister Morgana, the daughter of their mother Ygerna and her first husband, Gwrlais, the Dux of Cornovia who was killed by Uthyr during a failed revolt. Spending much of her time in the remote kingdoms of Rheged and the Orcades, she is rumored to have taken up dabbling in the pre-Christian religion. This is just one of several of her personality traits which have set her at odds with her younger half-brother throughout the years. However, views on paganism have always been less fundamentalist in Britannia, where anti-Christian martyrdom was never strong, and where the recent years have seen the pagan Germanic kingdoms cut off contact with the rest of the Christian world.
Artorius also does not like the fact that Morgana has allegedly taken up with a girl of younger age and humble origins named Nimue, who she is supposedly teaching in her own rumored forbidden lores. And the fact that he has received word that both are to come to stay for a time at Caerleon has left him even less enthused. Still, she is his sister, and it has been a long time since they have seen each other - and hopefully, it will give him a chance to at least attempt to set her up with a husband. She is far too old to still be single, and if he and Guanhumara fail to produce an heir, she and hers will be the next in the familiar line...
In character thread here.
Current players:
-Magbeam: Artorius (King Arthur)
-TinyDuchess: Guanhumara (Guinevere)
-Lady_Mornington: Morgana (Morgan le Fey)
-MelancholyBaby: Nimue
-Britwitch: Medraut (Mordred)
-Daedalus_x: Aeldredd the Blue (original)
Background:
Britannia, 494 AD. Since Emperor Honorius granted the island provinces self-rule in 410, and the revolt of the Saxons against Vertigernus in 460, the tribes of savages have slowly pushed the final remnants of Western Roman society westward, growing stronger as more and more migrate from the mainland each year. Not the proud and divided Vertigernus, nor the noble Ambrosius Aurelianus, or the near-savage Uthyr were able to completely stem the flow.
Until now.
The Saxon hordes of Bretwalda Aelle have just been defeated by the Romano-British army of Artorius Ambrosianus, Dux Bellorum, in a days-long siege at Mount Badonicus that, for all the blood spilled, ensured a final victory for the forces of Roman Christianity over Germanic paganism in the war for Britannia. Leaderless, without their bretwalda to unite them and having had to agree to a humiliating peace, the Saxon tribes have turned on each other, thegns fighting for the right to scrabble for their remaining territory with thousands more streaming back across the German Sea from an island that suddenly has become too crowded for their taste. Alone, without exception among the entire territory of what was once the Western Roman Empire, the Romano-British have held their own - and repulsed - the Germanic invaders.
All thanks to one man.
Artorius Ambrosianus, the son of Uthyr and Ygerna - although some claim that his true father was Uthyr's brother and his namesake, Ambrosius Aurelianus; others claim that it was Ygerna's first husband, Gwrlais, the Dux of the Cornovii; and still others, especially since the victory at Badonicus, claim he was sent by Providence itself. Officially, Artorius is an equal to the other chieftains and principes of the tribes and civitates of the Romano-British, directly ruling only over the tribe of the Silures from his fortress, the old Roman legionary fort of Isca Silirum now termed Caerleon. However, his real authority comes from his position as Dux Bellorum, the war leader; he commands his own personal cavalry squadron supported by taxes sent from the other princedoms of Britannia, and during times of war commands their war hosts also. It was in that capacity that Vertigernus and Ambrosius and Uthyr served; originally, it was subservient to a council of elders, but after the purges of the Saxon revolt, and the brutality of Uthyr in suppressing dissent, few are the men who would now speak out against the wish of the Dux Bellorum.
Artorius' uncle Ambrosius was termed 'the last of the Romans'; descended from an ancient family originally from Italy itself, and with his younger brother Uthyr rejecting his heritage to embrace the native Brythonic culture that is increasingly emerging revitalized, he was seen as the last of the ruling class to cling to the Roman civilization that they were now cut off from. Artorius has attempted to reverse that trend, using his popularity and office to propagate his views. He refers to his cavalry squadron not as the Combrogi, the Brythonic 'Companions', but rather as the Artoriani, after the Roman general Lucius Artorius Castus who established it originally and who he was named after - and whose name he uses instead of the Brythonic variant of Artuir. He styles himself a tribune rather than a tribal king, Britannia rather than Prydain, and the Dux Bellorum rather than his father's variant Pen Dragon. He prefers (his admittedly-spotty) Latin to the (admittedly-similar) Brythonic and clings to the Church of Rome as opposed to the more relaxed variant of Brythonic Christianity springing up. Patricius himself served as his spiritual advisor until his death a year before Badonicus, and at the battle Artorius' troops carried the True Cross and icons of Sancta Maria painted on their shields. He secretly desires to proclaim himself Imperator, and sees his victory at Badonicus as the first step to reforming the Western Roman Empire, with an expedition to Gallia or Hibernia obvious second stages.
His Romanizing trends are supported by his wife, Guanhumara. A young girl she is oldest (legitimate) child of Leo, king of the strategically important Dumnonii tribe. A man as harsh as he is a harsh bargainer, he would not devote his troops from his long border with the Saxons for Artorius' final campaign without a suitably appealing possibility of return to offset the risk. Guanhumara and Artorius were wed a year ago, one of the last acts undertaken by the devout Patricius before his death. Still far from being a woman and with the presence of her father looming over her, she attempts to hide her fear behind her omnipresent faith in the God who has delivered her husband his exalted position.
Though Britannia is in a golden age since the victory over the Saxons, Artorius is far-seeing enough to know that it will not last. His chancellor, Gaius, and his marshal, Bedwyr, are the two closest companions to Artorius and the two seniormost officers of the Artoriani, and thus his government administration. However, they come from relatively humble backgrounds and have little recognition of their own, despite being his friends since childhood, while the other Brythonic chieftains - Leo, Urien of Rheged, Marcus Cunomorus of the Cornovii, Melwas of Glastening, Vortiporius of the Demetae, Leudonus of the Orcades - are exactly the type of ruler who would ruin the gains he has made. But with no child of his own, or even male relative, Artorius has begun to worry, even though he is in the prime of his life in the mid 30s.
His one surviving relative, at least known (for Uthyr was notoriously profligate), is his half-sister Morgana, the daughter of their mother Ygerna and her first husband, Gwrlais, the Dux of Cornovia who was killed by Uthyr during a failed revolt. Spending much of her time in the remote kingdoms of Rheged and the Orcades, she is rumored to have taken up dabbling in the pre-Christian religion. This is just one of several of her personality traits which have set her at odds with her younger half-brother throughout the years. However, views on paganism have always been less fundamentalist in Britannia, where anti-Christian martyrdom was never strong, and where the recent years have seen the pagan Germanic kingdoms cut off contact with the rest of the Christian world.
Artorius also does not like the fact that Morgana has allegedly taken up with a girl of younger age and humble origins named Nimue, who she is supposedly teaching in her own rumored forbidden lores. And the fact that he has received word that both are to come to stay for a time at Caerleon has left him even less enthused. Still, she is his sister, and it has been a long time since they have seen each other - and hopefully, it will give him a chance to at least attempt to set her up with a husband. She is far too old to still be single, and if he and Guanhumara fail to produce an heir, she and hers will be the next in the familiar line...
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Flattery always works on me
