Griswoldi
Banned
Prologue
In September of 1066, what could be called the ultimate showdown was about to take place in England. The King of England, Edward the Confessor, had died, and the rulers of northern Europe began to dance a deadly battle for the throne. Three main factions arose; The English, led by Harold Godwinsson; the Normans, led by William of Normandy; and the Norwegians, led by Harald Sigurdsson, called Harald Hardrada. The Norwegians sailed from the Orkneys, which were a tribute state of Norway, to England, where Hardrada met up with Godwinsson's brother and the two began their march. Godwinsson had been preparing for an attack by William, but when he heard that the Norwegians were marching south, he took his armies north. He caught the Norwegians while they were asleep and without their armor on, and a battle waged, with the English taking the victory. Three weeks later, the Normans had sailed and conquered England, and the Norman army slaughtered the English army, which was battered from the fight with the Norwegians. But what if, somehow, the wind had blown north, and the Normans had sailed earlier? What if, three weeks later, in a reversal from what had happened, the Norwegians sailed south to fight the English? And what if Harald Hardrada, the last great Viking King, had won over England?
This timeline will feature a world where the Normans got to England first, resulting in would be their downfall, and the bloodied English armies fought the Norwegians at a different time, when they were fully armored and ready to fight. The POD is that instead of blowing south, the wind blows north, and stops the Norwegians from setting sail from Orkney.
September, 1066: Orkney Isles, Scotland
Harald Hardrada, King of Norway and claimant to the throne of England, was interrupted from his meeting with his advisers when one of his thralls rushed into his tent. The thrall was obviously out of air, and continued to pant heavily, until Hardrada gave him a slight slap on the back.
"Well go on boy, speak!"
"Sir, I was commanded to let you know that we cannot set sail tomorrow!" The thrall stuttered out, his entire body quivering in fear.
"Really?" Hardrada snorted. "And who 'commanded' you that?"
"It was one of the ship captains! He said if we sailed tomorrow, that we would veer off course!"
"Let me speak with this ship captain, then!" When the thrall did not move, Hardrada sighed. "Well? Go fetch him!"
The thrall scrambled out of the tent, and a few moments later came back in, this time accompanied by Johann Eriksson, a highly skilled warrior and even more highly respected ship captain.
"Eriksson." Hardrada stood up. "Why have you deemed it up to yourself whether or not I command my men to sail?"
Eriksson trembled - he hadn't expected Hardrada to take his advice as a command. He decided to speak tactfully.. when in doubt, blame it on the thralls! "I told your messenger boy to let you know that the wind has blown northward. If we head out, we will not make it to England with the entire army intact."
To his relief, Hardrada nodded. "We need the entire army if I am to take on the English and the Normans. Let the other captains know that until the wind clears up, we will not set sail."
With a nod, Eriksson scrambled out, glad he had kept his rank, and even moreso his life.
[Font=Courier New"]September, 1066: Normandy, France[/FONT]
In Normandy, the winds changing had led to William deciding to sail three weeks earlier than originally planned, believing the unexpected change was a sign from God. The men had been preparing to sail for a month, and on the day they were to take off, the Duke of Normandy was busy in his study with his own advisers, planning the invasion. Parallel to Hardrada, his meeting was also interrupted by one of his Captains. Edward of Brittany, a lesser noble, and one hell of a sailor, had come to tell William that the fleet was ready.
"Sir, the men are armored and have began boarding our ships. We'll be ready to begin crossing the channel in a matter of hours. However," Edward paused, "We have reason to believe that a third army, a group of Norwegians under the banner of - what did they say his name was - Harald Sigurdsson are sailing from the Orkneys as we speak."
"Those Norse heathens? They'll likely break into mutinies and fight each other before ever reaching England." William laughed. The captain nervously chuckled, silently thinking William was a bit too overconfident. Emphasis on silently. It wasn't too harmful, however. The Norman army was a threat to behold, and William was confident that they could defeat both the English and the Norwegians. What he didn't know is that Harold Godwinsson had been preparing for his invasion, and without the Norwegians to distract him, would be ready for his attack.
Last edited:
