Guerre d'Irlande
King Anguish, who has many British friends already, is being attacked by the Irish High King. The Irish kings are in discord themselves about how to meet King Arthur in battle. They are already fighting among themselves.
King Arthur sails to help his ally King Anguish, and his friend Sir Gerald of Striguil. From western ports, the army debarks in Leinster. There King Anguish welcomes them, and joins his forces to Arthur’s.
Together they confront a large Irish army of badly equipped, but highly motivated warriors.
Juin 530 - La bataille de Tara
Taille de bataille : grande
Troupes de meilleure qualité
Pertes : 15% tués, 30% blessés
Round 5: Pursuit.
Glory: 45 per round, x2 for Decisive Victory.
Muirchertach accepts defeat and surrenders to King Arthur. The terms are not too harsh, and Muirchertach swears fealty and homage to King Arthur. Anguish and Muirchertach agree that King Arthur shall have a region as his own direct fief, centered on the city of Dublin. This area is called the Pale, and Arthur assigns old Sir Brastias to be its first Justiciar, his regent for Ireland.
The king remains in Dublin to receive the surrender of the Irish regional kings, tribal kings, subkings, clan kings, and others. In general, most of the nearby kings yield, most of those far away do not, and half of those in between do.
King Arthur offers many Irish lands to British knights and lords as “speculative grants,” which means, essentially, “if you can take it, it’s yours.” They are generally in the territories of those Irish lords who are close by yet did not come to pay homage to Arthur. Many of these grants are to the de Ganis clan, others to the Butler clan. Those two become, with the Geralds, the leading families of feudal Ireland.
One of the most successful knights of the army is Sir Hugo de Ganis, a nephew of King Bors and of Queen Isoud the Elder, who had been raised at court in Ganis. After Arthur’s victory, Hugo is given a speculative grant of the Kingdom of Meath, a large region outside the Pale. He seeks mercenaries or knights who are willing to fight for a land grant under him.
Août 530 : The Castle of Bones
The subjugation of Ireland progresses satisfactorily. Many knights have some time to wander around and be unimpressed with Dublin’s primitive nature. One dark night, in the fastness of the new moon, a couple of Arthur’s most trusted men move stealthily among the troops and awaken selected individuals and ask if they wish to accompany the High King on a venture which will be the most perilous of their lives.
King Arthur chooses 7 companions and 144 footmen to accompany him on his secret, midnight ride to the Castle of Bones. This is a fantastic, otherworld journey that is an utter disaster for King Arthur and his friends. King Arthur is rescued by Sir Galegantis, who nearly dies in the attempt. Almost all the knights are killed, and only seven men return alive.
Arthur decides to return home to Camelot.
