Continued House of Dunkeld

Throughout the rest of 1285, Alexander III and his son Prince Alexander meet with various nobles throughout the realm, the purpose of these meetings is to gain common consensus in the move to reduce the Comyns power, and to ensure that nothing goes wrong when this move takes place. The most prominent supporters of the king's plans are the Lord of Annandale and the Earl of Carrick, both of whom have grudges against the Comyns, and furthermore the High Steward, James Stewart is someone who firmly supports the king's position on this.

However, someone within the King's camp alerts the Lord of Badenoch to the king's motives, and as such the lord of Badenoch meets with his cousin the Earl fo Buchan and they begin plotting their own moves. However, their plotting seemingly falls through when the Earl of Buchan dies from a fall on the 23rd June, 1285. John Comyn, his son and successor becomes Earl of Buchan and treads a more cautious path than his father did. His cousin, the Lord of Badenoch disgusted with this stalling returns to his lands and begins communicating with his brother in law John Balliol.
 
On the 9th December, 1285 a lavish feast is held at Stirling Castle, held to celebrate the news that Prince ALexander and his wife Princess Margaret are to be expecting another child. Those in attendance at the feast note the closeness between the prince and his wife, as well as the healthiness of the twin princes Alexander and Malcolm. It is also noted that only one of the Comyn lords is in attendance at Stirling, this being the earl of Buchan, when asked about this, the king merely replies. "Buchan has the sense that his cousin lacks." It is also noted that John Balliol is absent from the festivities as well, and those who know the king wonder if there will be war within the king, after all it is said that the king has not forgotten who it was who kidnapped him and his wife all those years ago.
 
The rest of December, 1285 passes by with meetings between the King and his lords, though throughout these meetings the Lord of Badenoch is noticeably absent, his cousin the Earl of Buchan is present though, and King Alexander begins preparing the young Earl in the role of assuming the lordship as well. However, on the final day of the year, the plans of the king are disrupted when word comes from the north, Magnus Magnusson Earl of Orkney has rescinded his oath of allegiance to the king, and has rebelled. At first Alexander is not sure whether or not Magnus is doing this on his own, or with the support of King Eric of Norway, however, he does not want to wait, and so he sends letters to all leal lords and orders Lord Aonghas Mór to gather men from the islands to fight Magnus.

Alexander himself prepares to set sail for Orkney, however, before he can, word comes to him from Badenoch, it seems John Comyn Lord of Badenoch has decided against continuing his support for the throne, and has instead rescinded fealty and declared John Balliol as the rightful king of Scotland. King Alexander is now faced with the potential for civil war, and begins preparing his armies.
 
In early 1286, John Comyn Lord of Badenoch and John Balliol, now being named King John I, begin rallying their men in Badenoch and Galloway, attempting to meet somewhere in the middle. Alexander aware of this commands the Lord of Annandale and the Earl of Carrick to call their retainers to the field and to march into Galloway, something that both men do eagerly, on February 1, 1286 a battle occurs on the border between Carrick and Galloway which sees the Earls forces emerge victorious, and the forces under John Balliol's captain Angus Macdouall retreat back toward the Balliol fortress. Lord Robert of Annandale marches his own men into Galloway as well, and fights a battle known as the red mass for the slaughter that occurs there, Carrick and Annandale begin moving in on Balliol, making the man most desperate for aid from his brother in law.

Badenoch however, finds himself trapped, the forces of the Earl of Argyll, and the earls of Strathearn and Buchan are marching in on him, trapping him within his seat of power. The siege of Badenoch begins on 20th February, 1286, and lasts for around a month before Lord Comyn capitulates and lowers his banners and opens his gates. King Alexander present at the siege, decides to execute Lord Comyn, and has his son also named John taken to court to serve as a ward. The Lordship of Badenoch and Lochaber are forefit to the crown until decided otherwise.

In Galloway, John Balliol has been captured, his forces decimated, he is brought before the king at Stirling, where he pleads most desperately for his life. Alexander deciding he does not want to have his cousin killed, decides instead to have him pardoned though he and his son are not allowed to return to Galloway for a period of ten years, until such time that the king decides otherwise. This move surprises many within Scotland, as they had thought King Alexander would have had the head of the pretender, as he did the pretender's main supporter, but it would seem otherwise.

The Bruces are rewarded though for their service, and the lands of both Carrick and Annandale are expanded, meaning the former kingdom of Galloway is even further reduced. This will cause resentment in the future. The issue of Balliol and Comyn done, King Alexander turns his attention toward Orkney, where Magnus Magnusson has been evading the ships of Aonghas Mór, and as such the king assembles the royal fleet and sets sail, arriving on Orkney on the 15th March, 1286.
 
At Orkney, Magnus Magnusson is confronted by King Alexander and a host of angry Scotsmen, without the support of King Eric, the man is vastly outnumbered and sensing that King Alexander might well not react well to any efforts of resistance, the man surrenders, and orders his vassals to do so as well. He does this expecting the king to be merciful as he was John Balliol, however, King Alexander, deciding that the the islands have been a burden too often and he decides to execute Magnus Magnusson there and then itself. The man's head is sent back to Stirling, and his body parts are distributed around the kingdom as a warning to others who might consider rebelling.

With Magnus dead, his son Jon might well have expected to succeed, however, Alexander is firmly opposed to allowing this and so sends Jon off to his death as well with the executioner's block getting its due. Jon's son, Magnús Jónsson is but a boy, and Alexander hesitates here, and yet reluctant to allow another Norsemen the chance to claim the earldom, he strips the boy of his titles and banishs him from the kingdom of Scotland. The earldom is forefit to the crown and so remains in Alexander's possession as he returns to Orkney.

Word of what the king of scots has done echoes around the kingdom, as well as spreading to England, Ireland, Wales, and the continent. Edward I is rather impressed with his brother in law, whilst the Scots know now not to mess with their king. Rome, sees this as divine justice for the norse earls who for so long had played both sides false. King Eric is once more infuriated with his father in law, and swears revenge, he accepts Magnús Jónsson into his home and treats him as a welcome guest, as he begins his plans for revenge.
 
Following on from the Orkney campaign, the realm settles into peace once more, King Alexander welcoming yet another grandchild, this time a girl named Margaret in honour of her mother and grandmother. The girl is born with blond hair and blue eyes, and soon becomes the apple of her grandfather's eyes. The king begins working even harder to secure his realm, and keeps a close eye on John Comyn, Earl of Buchan as well as the young John Comyn Lord of Badenoch, now a ward of court. Alexander also has his son Prince Alexander working to mend the relations between the Bruces and the Comyns, and several talks are held on the matter though it seems like little will come from these talks.

At court, John Balliol is castigated for his role in the failed rebellion, is mocked for his attempts at becoming a king and is generally humiliated. His wife, the daughter of John De Warenne, who was left in Galloway writes to her father reporting of this treatment and her loneliness, De Warenne writes to King Alexander about this hoping to get the issue resolved, the king ignores his letter, and then the next one he sends and the next one. Eventually, King Edward gets involved and writes to his brother in law, asking for an explanation about John Balliol's treatment. Alexander merely responds that Balliol is a traitor and is being treated as such.
 
Eventually, King Alexander decides that Balliol is becoming far too much of an issue, and takes the man out on a hunt, it is during this hunt that Balliol is killed, supposedly from a fall, though there are rumours that the king has had him murdered. This occurs in late 1286, and those who had supported Badenoch and Balliol look at this with something akin to horror. Edward Balliol, the young infant son of JOhn Balliol is now the titular Lord of Galloway, and as such is a valuable tool to be used with regards to negotiations. Alexander keeps the boy under close watch, especially when he is in the presence of his cousin John Comyn Lord of Badenoch, and the boy's mother. Edward's mother writes to her father the Earl of Surrey of her suspicions and the earl goes to King Edward about this issue, however, the king decides to let the issue lie, deciding instead to travel to Gascony to deal with issues there.

In Norway, a marriage is arranged between the exiled Earl of Orkney and the king's daughter Margaret of Norway, this is done in preparation for a campaign to recover the isles as well as Orkney and Shetland. The exiled earl also promises to aid King Eric in his campaigns against the Danish,which begin in 1287. However, a spanner is thrown into their plans when the Earl of Orkney dies during one of the early battles in 1287, King Eric manages to make some gains but the loss of the earl, is a big blow to his plans and as such he begins considering negotiating with his father in law, or perhaps with those who are scared of this new King Alexander.
 
On the 14th May, 1287 another boy was born to Prince Alexander heir to the throne, and his wife Princess Margaret. This boy was their third son, and the fourth child they had had including the stillbirth in 1286. The child was named Duncan after the founder of their dynasty, and as such his birth was greeted with much pomp and celebration. King Alexander, happy with the birth of another grandson, announces the creation of the Earldom of Moray for his son Prince Alexander, a title which will go to the heir of the Scottish throne from this day forth. This is something that is received with mix feelings by the magnates, there are some who support this due to the lessening of Comyn power, whilst others begin looking at it with some nervousness as they fear royal encroachment.

In Gascony, King Edward meets with Gascon Nobles to address the grievances that they might have with his officials and begins planning a legal overhaul of those officials who had become too comfortable. Something that King Philip of France begins using to sow discontent within Gascony though he is not successful. Furthermore, King Edward begins setting his sights on expanding English holdings within the continent determined to take advantage of the new king of France's youth and inexperience.
 
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