Auvergne's court

From the forest to the north a messenger rides to your gate. It looks like he's going to ride to the closed doors but he stops and fires his bow he'd been carrying. The arrow flies and with a solid *thunk* hits the gate doors(assuming you have a wooden gate) The rider quickly turns around and rides into the forest out of sight. The guards not his path is north towards Germania. Looking at the black arrow the guards notice something is attached to it. A parchment on the shaft of the arrow

Jarl Torstein squints towards Richard, laughing lightly. "Du kan inte ta sådana saker i norr, i den sanna kulturen och tron ​​passar till straff av avskum." The translator nods, interpreting the words. "You cannot assume such things of the North, those of the true culture and faith see fit to punishments of the scum."

He'd push more of the Nordic language into the room, obviously seeing that this will lead to nothing. "Snart kung Björn och hans allierade kommer att anlända i dina oheliga länder, kan jag inte se hur ni kristna kan vara lugn om den kommande undergång. Du kan inte säga att han är hänsynslös heller, eftersom jag var helt enkelt meddelandet bringer." The translator nods once more, spreading his words. "Soon King Bjorn and his allies will arrive in your unholy lands, I do not see how you christians can be calm of the coming doom. You will feel the true fury of the frozen North, the place you Christians not dare go."

The ambassador left the court and returned to Cantabrio.

A few days passed since their last discussion when Lord Richard called the Jarl Torstein to discuss. The prisonner was guided through the garden of the Clarus Mons to a little tower away from the rest of the castle. It was the Ducal Aviary where the Prince, some courtisans and their servants took care of the birds of prey there. When Torstein arrived, Prince Richard left the owl on his arm to one of the servant and came to made a sign to the Jarl to come closer.

"We have received news I think might interest you." Translated Alfred. "Your slavic allies have abandoned you. The other ally of your king, his peer of Rorukheim, had his fleet blocked by a storm and now my father's army has reach Rouen before him. The northern path is blocked, and so is the southern : the Emperor has arrived and already took away any resting place you could have found in the Middle Sea. And, on a more personal note, your master refused to pay for your ransom. It seems you are not that important to him than you might have thought or been made to believe. I even think he has already replaced you.

Anyway, what it mean is, you have lost. The fury of the north remain unseen and our coast unscratched by your kind. Soon, we will take the road, you, a part of my court and I, to meet the Emperor and the delegations your King and the Tsar will undoubtly send if they have even the minimal amount of intelligence. And we know the Tsar will send one of his agent to negociate, so only the intellect of your lord remain to be proven." Richard showed a letter written in cyrilic as a proof "So, we hope you use this little trip to rethink your situation and your relationship with the master and the powerless gods that abandoned you.

That said, sleep well tonight, for we're leaving tomorrow."

15:57:10
A quaint man with hazel eyes and brown hair gives you a message in your own language rather than his;
In English it is as such;
Greetings, I am a representative of Auldenland- and I am here to establish our first relations with Auvernege.
We would describe ourselves of only wanting peace and trade...and to maintain our homeland's ethnic purity- but we also care about other nation's purity as well. Every people deserve their own respective land to feel safe in.
Furthermore, we would like support against any possible threats to us in exchange for any good or servive we can provide, that will be all.

Berenger looked at the ambassador a few steps under him. One of his advisor whispered something in his ear and the newly crowned king listened patiently. After a nod, the advisor returned to his place, a little bit under the throne of dark wood. The King returned his gaze to the Auldenlander and spoke.

"Peace and trades are also what we desire the most. If your master trully wish, then we can negociate an agreement that will be beneficial for our two peoples. If he trully wish for peace, then he has nothing to fear from us, as long as he don't oppose our mission to restore order to the Gauls.

We find the idea of having a friend on the other side of the Rhine. For now, we have heard your people still practiced some... rituals. We wish to see a few monks and priests go in a mission to your people and a present of the different products of your land, so we can be more fair in our judgement of your Master. Do so, and we shall support you."

Actually my people don't practice any rituals at all but you can still send over your monk, your religion may not spread like you want it too but it will atleast act as an effective embassy to your nation. Our quote on quote religion doesn't call for violence against other faiths...it doesn't call for anything actually.
So when do you think they will come over? Will they arrive in Honddāl or Kanser?

Berenger smiled at the Ambassador before speaking.

"If you say so. Priests formed in the school of Reims then should arrives soon to Honddal, since I believe it is the closest city from the border, isn't it ?

Well then, we await your next delegations and merchants, so we can see in more details how trades between our nations could be arranged."

This Agreed upon
, also people may convert if they feel so but you may not force people nor advertise your cause.
If your non-Aulden ideology is so holy and superior then it should spread by the will of the Aulden people naturally -if not notthing will change as Auldens have kept there no-worship tradition for almost one thousand years. except for the fact that the main purpose I allow your priests here are to represent your country, not shape ours, and such will be done. They may call themselves a church or whatever but my government will refer to them as the Auverngeian embassy

This time, the King couldn't repress his laugther.

"Ah ! Do you really expect priests in a Mission to care about such petty things as mortal politics ? You are a hopeful man.

Now, my scribes will prepare a document for us to sign. Since you seem to be such a high representative of your "Government", I believe you can put the seal of your Master upon such contract in his play, hm ?"

Um...why yes I have one right here *stamps document with a simple seal which is obviously just a round version of the Aulden flag*
Even if they don't act as politicians, we will still use them to form opinions about you...not but what they say about you though- they are sure to have bias.

To the great king of Auvernge,
Although the war died prematurely as if it never existed, we are so great full for your service- and I assure you the Christians and Pagans of the outer provinces of Aulden will be treated fairly.
All though a state of no worship will be our stance amoung our royal family and our officials. I assure you the Christians of the east can remain Christian and even preach there ways if they so wish.
If your faith is really superior, than it will prevail, and who am I to stop it- however if it doesn't spread then it will be a victory of native Aulden culture...neverless...I love let what happen happen, there will be no Christian tax.


Also, could you tell me what year it is now and what year was it when I joined the region? I need to update the ages of my royal family

Somewhere in Eastern Gallia

A huge group, almost an army of people was traveling to Auvergne, consisting of clerics, nobles, knights, scribes, guards, ladies, merchants, diplomats, and so on. In the center of this mass was a huge, ornamented cart, on which Princess Gisela was traveling. Still furious with her father, she hasn't spoke since they left the Castle of Varazdin.

For Bernard Zrinski, Chancellor of the King, it was all the better. He didn't like smalltalk with royalty anyways, and he had more time to deal with more important matters while en route. He has trusted Otto Berger, a good soldier of German descent to act as the Princess' bodyguard.

Among others, the King has sent a large contingent of guards with his beloved daughter too. There were a handful of German knights - some of them who spoke French -, and a large number of Hungarian nomads. With this, the King had more intentions: he wanted to show the Lords of the West that he was able to tame the wild Scythian Huns*, and he also wanted the Hungarian nobles to see how advanced the West is, so when they return to the Great Plains of Hungary, they will want to live in fancy castles too instead of yurts.

Soon, the Varasdian diplomatic party would reach the borders of Auvergne, which many have been waiting for, as the travel was long and tiresome.



* in the Middle Ages, most Western people did not care/know enough abut the Eastern nomadic people to differentiate between them. Therefore Magyars/Hungarians, Avars, Khazars, Mongols, etc. - were often referred to as Huns/Scythians.

The region of Provence was the main gate to the Gauls. Once part of the Kingdom of Burgundy, it was now a collection of many city-states and petty counties. The Alps took the eastern half of the region, and for such a large convoy as Princess Gisela's, the only viable road was to follow the coastline.

Monaco, Nice, Fréjus and Toulon were all the cities on their way to the first Auvergnats settlements. Theses independent cities tried to receive the Varasdian princess as well as they could, but while wealthier than the rest of the region, due to their proximity to the Mediterranean Sea, decades of wars and plagues had taken their toll.

Toulon itself was at the frontier of Auvergne's realm and while they had agreements with the reformed Kingdom of France, it was visibly a fragile truce between the far stronger Kingdom and the city. Up until recently, the Auvergnats stayed on their side of the Rhone, and never bothered crossing the river but a few years ago, they took over the cities on the other side of the river's mouth. Arles and Avignon were the first to fell, then Massillia joined the Septimanian Traders and finally Aix was conquered. Toulon only escaped because of the coming of the flood season.

Once the escort reached the Kingdom of the Franks, they were greeted with an armed troop of knights, brandishing the banner of the Kings of the Franks and Dukes of Auvergne and Francia.

"Sire Zrinski ?" Said what was visibly the leader of the knights in French, knowing there was translators. "We have been informed of your arrival. Our lord, his Majesty Berenger, invite you and Lady Gisela to Arles, where he currently reside. He wish to meet you and discuss some matters. He would trully be glad if you accepted, but he want you to know that you are free to go through his domain regardless of your answer."

Bernard Zrinski rode forward to meet the leader of the knights, along with a translator too. He was eager to arrive in a decent and civilised place.

"Greetings! - Yes, we gladly accept the invite to Arles by your Lord, his Majesty, Berenger. Both the Princess and I are eager to meet him."

Zrinski turned back and gave orders to the men in Croatian, which quickly turned into a series of yelling and shouting in German, Croatian, Hungarian, Italian and even French too.

Arles, the little Rome of the Gauls, was but a shadow of its former glory. The city-fortress, looming over the desolated swamp left by centuries of war and chaos, opened its gate over which were floating the flags of the Rex Francorum and it's population came to see this strange parade of easterner.

In front of the main castle, King Berenger Longhair waited, as tall and pale as the stories said. His black hairs, still not completely turned grey by the age, were cascading over his shoulder and few wrinckles were scarring his smiling face. At his side were the new "elected" count of the city, the bishop, an envoy of the Septimanian League and a representative of the Radhanites, one of the last jewish community in the Gauls.

"We welcome you, Sire Zrinski, Chancellor of Varasd, and your party, in our domain." Said the King in a perfect greek, in the hope it was a language spoken in Varasd. "A feast has been prepared for your arrival. We will discuss around it about the reasons of your coming that, we must say, are still a mystery for us."

"Greetings, Your Majesty! It is our honour to be welcomed by You!" replied Count Zrinski in Greek first, then repeated the sentence in perfect Latin too, to show his hosts that they are well-learned in the main language of the West too.

Everyone proceeded according to the moderals and "etiquette" of the times, even the Hungarian nomads. Once on the feast, Chancellor Zrinski began to talk to the King, yet Princess Gisela only said a few words and nothing to the Chancellor.

"Your Majesty, we are on a diplomatic mission to strenghten our friendship with the nations of the West - to put it in a few words." Zrinski looked around a bit, as if telling a secret, then leaned a bit towards the King and spoke quietly:
"Princess Gisela is also in need of a suitor, so King Zvonimir ordered me to bring her too, in case the Princess, hrm... changes her mind."

"a suitor you say...?"

Berenger thought for a moment, judging both Zrinski and the princess. He continued to speak in greek despite the Varasdian Chancellor abilities with latin. It was after all, the language Berenger choosed to be the default one for his kingdom when it came to international relations.

"Then I would invite you to stay in our desmene a little longer. We will soon return to Clermont, where our only child and second King of our Realm currently reside. You see, he is currently without lady or children. We both had problem to find a feeting partner to preserve the stability of our desmene. Either in the germans lands or in the Gauls itself.

If I must say so, an union between the house of your master and ours could be a profitable alliance."

"Indeed it would be," replied Zrinski. "however, I feel like I must tell you in advance that so far the Princess has denied any suitor. I shall tell our company to be at ease, some of them would surely like to have a day or two off after all this travel."

The Chancellor turned around and told his company the news. The Hungarian horsemen were looking for a suitable watering place for their horses, while the Croatians asked where they are to set up their tents and camp. The knights who were off-duty and weren't tasked with protecting anything headed off in small groups to local brothels and taverns. Seemingly, everyone in this company knew what their task was to do in any case.

Chancellor Zrinski turned back and told his host about the questions of his men, namely the place of their camp and the place for the horses. "Hungarians are very picky when it comes to their horses." He added with a sigh. "I hope you don't mind."

The king and his aides helped the Varasdians and Hungarians to find the places that were prepared for them. Green hills around the city, untouched by the otherwise swamp-like ground, were ready to welcome the horses of the delegation. The officers and other high-ranking easterners were lodged in the castle, and the rest lived with the inhabitants.

"We think it would good if the princess came with us to Clermont, to see our son for herself. We could also have a discussion with her if needed, to see if she would agree to this union.

"We will have to go through the Cevennes, then follow the Ailliers to reach our city. It is some of the most savage lands in the Gauls for thoses mountains are harsh but beautifull mistresses. You shall see for yourself, if you agree. Beside, we have accomplished all for what we came to Arles in the first place. The Rhone is secure, loyal agents have been put in charge of our most recent acquisition, not much more can be done."

Chancellor Zrinski:

"Our journey here was without any perils, and I believe that King Zvonimir gave us more than enough warriors to scare off bandits. Or is there a larger threat in these lands than mere highwaymen?" asked the Chancellor, with much curiosity in his voice.

Meanwhile, Princess Gisela still didn't speak - especially not to the Chancellor - with the only exception being Otto, her bodyguard. However, the large man was only good at things involving weapons, therefore he proved to be a poor partner for conversations and barely knew what to reply to what the Princess said. Maybe that's what Gisela liked about her bodyguard: the rough simpleness and the complete lack of any courtly intrigue and politics.

At the question of the Chancellor, Berenger smiled and got up. To tell the stories of his desmene was one of his favorite passtime with outsiders, something even the Emperor of Constantinople hadn't been able to avoid. Suddently, the king of the Franks started to speak in an old latin, a latin worthy of poems and high literature, and it is like a poet that he almost sang thoses words :

"Ah yes. Highwaymen are no problem in thoses peticular lands. It is too far away from settlements to be worth it. No, what you must fear in theses mountains is the earth itself. The trees are against you and have under their service legions of animals and insects. In summer, fire run the countryside but when the sun is low and the winter is here : many "roads" are no longer usable. May days or weeks can go without a single drop falling from the sky and then suddently, in one day, water can be everywhere, sometime with its friends : hail. This last point is actually true of the Rhone and Gothia as a whole.

One should be vary wary of thoses rivers and lakes : they come from the deep within the mountains and are as dangerous as the rocks that gave birth to them. Some can heal, other shouldn't be looked at for fear of loosing much more than one's life.

And then, there's thoses sudden plateaux, where one could run for miles without finding any source of water, with winds so powerfull no tree is left here : only grass and other small plants.

Yes, it is an harsh region, a difficult mistress that you can never trully yield. But once you've gone through, ah ! There lie our domain : vast farms on a soil years of anarchy had left un-civilized, fortress of the Arvennes the romans left to ruin but that we have rebuilt to protect our treasures : the old mines that made the wealth of the celtic kings of old and that we have re-occupied ! And in the middle of it all, our dear Clermont, shining bright like a jewel that not even the shadow of the mountains can dull.

All of this is our Realm. The Highlands of the Gauls. A beautiful land, but a dangerous one. Yes, our travel won't be without peril but do not be afraid ! We will have guides that know theses parts like no other. Once you've mastered thoses roads, you can go through faster than by any other mean. And you will see all of this for yourself."

Chancellor Zrinski:

The Chancellor listened to the words of Berenger with genuine interest. After he finished, Zrinski leaned a bit closer, speaking in a tone indicating that what he was about to say was not for all ears to listen.

"I can see that you are very much alike to His Majesty King Zvonimir. Maybe we can discuss things a bit more political? Or you wish to leave "business" after we arrived to Clermont?"

Berenger leaned forward to listen to the Chancellor. He then nodded and spoke in latin.

"Come, let us visit the gardens."

The king rose from his chair and made a sign for the servants to come and clear the table. Meanwhile, the troubadours began to sing louder. Some of the guests started to dance, other watched them or wandered aimlessly while discussing. This is how Berenger and the Zrinski took their leave without being noticed by most of the men present.

Once out of the dining hall, some of the multicolored knights, the "Cavalièr de Colores", of Berenger started to following the two men wandering down the alleys of the palace of Arles.

"Do not worry they do not understand greek." Said the King. "So, what message from His Majesty Zvonimir do you bear ?"

Chancellor Zrinski

The Chancellor nodded, and answered in Greek:
"Firstly, you must see that King Zvonimir is the shield that protects Europe and Christianity from the East. He has converted and subjugated the semi-nomadic Hungarian tribes, he stopped the Bogomil heresy from spreading and fought them in Transylvania. He sent his own son to fight against the pagans who tried to destroy the Order of Saint George in the North, and he has made Wallachia safe too."

The Chancellor obviously did not even want to mention that it was Prince-Grand Master Stephan's glory too that the Order survived and it was him who conquered Wallachia aswell.

"But he can not continue to face the enemies of Christianity without having his back secure, if you understand. A lasting and strong alliance with one of the Kingdoms of the West would give him the security to continue his great work. Obviously Auvergne is known in our lands for being the home of valiant knghts and an even more valiant King. In addition, Princess Gisela is looking for a suitor. Well, she isn't looking for a suitor, but her father is definitely doing so."