I am Sigurdr! My brothers sail west to avenge my father, cruelly murdered by the Northumbrians! I have stayed back with my family to rule over my lands, a steward of the people. But we will not be content with what we have, oh no. There is more to come, we will see to it.
My true talents lie in the development of our family’s fortunes, and so we will proceed thusly, focussing on the development of our wealth and the betterment of our people.
Incredibly, I am married to the daughter of the murdering ■■■■■■■ who took my father from me, but I shall not cast the sins of the father on the daughter. After all, she is mine to control, and has a claim on her father’s lands in any case. That might be useful.
My son, Knud… ah my son. A brave, rowdy boy. He will be fearsome hero like his grandfather one day, I am sure of it. We will educate him well, and I will leave him with an ever increasing dynasty. His name will sung in ages to come, no doubt.
My daughter Alof is a promising lass, charm seeping from her eyes. She will grow up to marry some minorly important figures to secure claims on other lands - her sons will be of our line, it is all we shall permit.
We were drunk when we chose our youngest’s name. I can’t even pronounce it. I doubt her future husband will either. Hopefully it will not cost us whatever alliance I think up when the time is nigh.
Our council is formed of men I don’t trust, and a woman I trust less. My Marshal barely knows which end of the sword goes toward the enemy, and my priestess… well I’m not convinced she actually knows much about our religion, but we’ll see.
Our faith reveres our ancestors. They watch over us from the grave and guide us forward.For this we must respect and worship them.
The best way to prove our devotion is through the act of sacrifice. The most valuable sacrifice we can offer is human life.
Faith and war go hand in hand. One who refuses to fight in the name of the divine cannot be called at true believer.
Our spymaster, Chief Sigfrid of Skane, doesn’t much like us. That doesn’t particularly strike me as a good thing, but as my vassal I must appease him by retaining his services on the council, and frankly, he does not lack for talent too badly. So scheme I must, and devise a way to improve his opinion of me.
My son, Knud, must be educated. My mother, bless her, is a talented woman, and quick-witted. She will be an excellent guide in the development of my son’s abilities and character.
!! For the record, I haven’t even started the game yet haha. I only unpaused after sending that proposal !!
Now then… being the warmongering sort, and needing some coin my weak neighbours just happen to have, we have gone a plundering, and in the meantime, captured the sister of the Jarl of Jylland. I’m not positive why it says he paid me zero, because he definitely paid me 20. Ain’t nobody leaving my jail free (at least with their heads attached). Our army also returned on its way to pillage some other friends, bringing is 15 more coin, and prestige to go with it. Everyone loves a successful raid.
Having tasted blood, our champions are eager for more, and the next battle sees some truly heroic efforts. Gunnarr ripped off one of their champions heads before rampaging through a bunch more nobodies! What a beast! 31 kills to his name in this fight.
While I’ve been off pillaging, my brother Ivar has gained vengeance for the horrible death of our father, and has slain Aella Oswulfson! The Sons of Lothbrok are not to be trifled with!
Giddy with the news, and the success of my raiders, I get even better news knowing I have fully satisfied my wife, and she is again pregnant! Sadly, Gunnarr has succumbed to a petty minion of the enemy in our latest battle however.
One always wishes for more sons to ensure the succession, but given the fact my titles must be spread amongst them all, another daughter may not be the worst thing!
More successful raiding, more prisoners! And this time a valuable one. Our friends are rich, but they do not know how to use their resources. I do!
This giant of a man has visited my court, and I am in awe of his strength. His genes are invaluable, and so we shall marry him to our daughter in the hopes our bloodline produces an slew of giant champions to lead our armies in battle!
Calamity! Sacrilege! The horror! I have lived in fear of it all my life and it has found me. My skin is black and bursting, and the court physician confirms it: I have contracted the plague. I fear my time is nearly at an end, and there is still so much to do! We have been drawn into war with one of our allies (my eldest daughter is betrothed to their second son!), and we have been beaten defending our holdings in the north. Our army is in retreat, and here I am, sitting with the physician deciding my fate. We shall seek treatment, and hope she knows what she is doing.
Oh gods, things have gotten worse. I am now faceless. A masked presence in the halls of my own chiefdom, avoided by all. The physician has botched it all, and I am sure to die even sooner now. The wretched woman is not deserving of life. The divine demands her head. We most arrange marriage for our son to ensure things do not fall apart before he comes of age, and so we find a nice looking, somewhat talented woman with a claim on many lands in the southwest. He is learning the ways of the warrior, and hopefully, he will live to spread our dynasty further.
I have died. So ends the reign of Sigurdr. Long live Jarl Knud!
