A Tale of Two Romes.

The Sagas and eras of Northern Rome.

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The Era of The Vikingr: 867AD-1016AD

The year is 867AD and The Sons Of Ragnarr are burning their way through the Kingdom of Northumbria in revenge for their fathers death. The foolish king Artgal of Strathclyde declared his kingdom would side with their old Anglo-Saxon foes in Northumbria The Sons Of Ragnarr in the name of God. This misguided Catholic Zealousness would only lead to him in chains shipped to Dublinn and his son and heir killed in battle when his own nobles mid battle switched sides and joined arms with the Sons of Ragnarr rather than aid the Anglo-Saxons.

the chronicler Llewlyn of of Annandale describes in his writings "The Lion Of The North" the results of this power vacuum "With the throne empty the remaining Nobles hoping to create a puppet raised The bastard of the previous Kings heir only to watch those hopes dashed when upon his crowning Halfdan 'White-Shirt' with a large entourage barged into the hall and announced that the young King, in exchange for Halfdan and Ivarr's aid in his ascension to the throne would take Halfdan's daughter Saga 'The Truth-speaker' as his wife and convert to Asatru. The Cumbrian nobles left with little choice begrudgingly accepted these terms, but were eagerly accepted by the young King who is said to have fallen for the flaxen haired beauty as soon as he laid eyes upon her.That night they were married in the Asatru way and the following morning the young King marched with this Norse entourage and his own troops to join the main army in the final battle against the Kingdom of Northumbria". The chronicler Sigurd of Bwr states in his writings "The Kings Of Albion '' that "The battle was close, while the sons of Ragnar had superior numbers the Anglo-Saxons held advantageous ground which minimized the Sons of Ragnarrs advantage in numbers. The armies battled for hours neither willing to give an inch of ground, but when the battle was looking to be swinging in the Anglo-Saxons favour the young King raised his sword towards the sky and let out a cry "FOR ODIN! FOR YR OGLEDD! WITH ME MEN OF STRATHCLYDE!, LET US SLAY THESE ANGLO-SAXON DOGS IN THE NAME OF THE WHITE LION OF STRATHCLYDE!" and charged towards the Anglo-Saxon line, his nobles and troops inspired by their kings bravery followed with a new found zeal and savagery cutting their way to King Aella and taking him prisoner. The capture of their King caused the Northumbrian army to collapse and retreat. The young King would personally present King Aella in chains to The Sons Of Ragnarr after the battle.That night celebrating the days victory with The Sons Of Ragnarr, Halfdan 'White-Shirt', Ivarr 'The boneless, Bjorn 'Iron-Side', Sigurd 'Snake In The Eye' and Ubbe, The King was granted the official title 'Ragnarrsson' and just as much a legitimate heir to his legacy as them. The King that same night at the age of 17 took on the new name, Dy'Tyrex I 'Ragnarrsson' Of The Kennedy Dynasty and was even granted the right to carve the blood eagle on Aella, as his people's vengeance against Aella and the Anglo-Saxons was much older and steeped in much more blood".As king Dy'Tyrex I grew old and had sired many sons, worried about the stability of his realm after his death. The death of Ivarr in 890 had led to islay and Gododdin separating and declaring war on Strathclyde. This only led to Gododdvin and Islay's conquest and incorporation into the Kingdom of Strathclyde as neither army would fight alongside the other. This reluctance fueled by competing claims caused both armies to be defeated individually by the combined forces of Jorvik and Strathclyde. Then after the death of Halfdan 'white-shirt' in 903 The Kingdom of Jorvik would split and form the chiefdoms of Jorvik and Lancaster. These two Chiefdoms almost immediately went to war against each other. Dy'Tyrex I now 67 feeling death grasping at his soul and witnessing so much chaos in his life brought on by the death of Kings and petty squabbles for inheritance made a choice. The king declared that from this time onward all sons born before and after the first born son by marriage were to be given the title 'Vikingr-Prince' and their rights to inheritance were to be stripped from them. These sons would take an oath to never raise arms against their king or his rightful heir or be declared frændaskomm, in exchange they were to be given ships and crews to go out and explore and conquer new lands for them to rule in their kings name. These new 'Vinkingr-Princes' took their oaths seriously and would become an essential, successful and even revered component of the Kingdom of Strathclyde for most of its history. These new conquers would be bolstered by Norse, Brythonic and Gaelic warriors flocking from the less stable nearby Kingdoms. These men brought with them their families in hopes of glory, pay and lands to conquer. This mass population and warrior influx overtime would lead to military expansions into, and even the eventual conquering of the entirety of Éireann, Alba the northern islands and even the entire coastline of Norway by 956 in the name of King Dy'Tyrex III.