So, just over four years ago I made
this map, and ever since then, the character of "Ruttu the Red," "Ruduruda," or "Rudolf the Red-axed Tyrant" has become one of my favorite characters I've made, despite him originally being made as a joke. This led me to reboot my favorite Sami now.
(note before I begin, I am narrating this from the perspective of a character here, not myself).
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13 truly is a devilish number, as Europe has found out. The 13th century began with the most cursed treachery by the Catholic world, burning Constantinople to the ground and stealing her wealth. Then the Mongol Horde led by their feared Genghis Khan would emerge on the world stage, and the most terrible Ogedei Khan would burn half of Europe to the ground. And just as Ogedei Khan had died and the Europeans were starting to relax, the last conqueror would begin to rise in the far, far north.
The came of this conqueror is Ruttu, or Ruduruda. Legends tell that he was born of a vile act performed by a Swedish nobleman on a Pagan Lappish slave woman. The boy born from this deed was named Rolfe by the father, but called Ruttu by the Lapp. A few years later, the Lapp and baby Ruttu escaped back into the wilderness of the far north, where only the most hardy of people may survive.
Over the the course the next few decade, Ruttu would grow up among the Lapps. However, he was seen as an outsider to them, an impure Lapp. But, through various wicked and underhanded tactics, he would climb through the ranks of his tribe, eventually becoming the leader in 1248, much to the dissatisfaction of much of his people. Immediately upon becoming leader, he would launch a war of unification of the Lappish peoples, culminating in the 1250 Battle of the Lappish plains, where he would fight many rival leaders of the Lapps, bolstered by deserters from his own people. However, Ruttu proved to be a magnificent tactician, and destroyed the armies of his rivals, uniting the Lapps under Ruttu. Thus ends his first campaign.
The process of uniting the Lapps left Ruttu with a lot of enemies, notably the most Christian Kingdom of Norway, of whom Ruttu inadvertently pillaged and raided in his unification effort. King Haakon IV Haakonson demanded retribution from Ruttu, who responded with war. He marched across the Scandes and fallowed the Halagoland coast to the gates of Trondheim on the River Nid in 1252. Their, despite being heavily outnumbered once again, Ruttu was able to beat back Haakon the Old, who had underestimated Ruttu's prowess, in the Battle of the River Nid. Soon after, the Lapps would enter Trondheim and leave it barren of all wealth. Ruttu wished to continue his conquest of Norway, but that would mean entering the much more dangerous lands of the Vestlandet, where the enemy would be awaiting and ever valley and fjord, awaiting to surround him. He decided, rather, to retreat, with the demand that the Halagoland and Trondelag would be ceded to him. He had more important work to be done elsewhere. Thus ends his second campaign.
Sweden was going through a period of turmoil. The previous king was incompetent, and the new one was still a child. Ruttu's actions in his unification of the Lapps led to high tensions with the Swedes, whom claimed rule over much of these lands. Conflict with emerge, with raiding and skirmishing by the Swedes into Lapland. In 1253, Ruttu would respond with his most ambitious campaign. That year, he would driving into the heart of Sweden, executing any noble that came upon his path. The first part of this campaign would come to a head in December of that year, just south of Uppsala. There, the armies of Swedes and Lapps faced one another, ready to fight. But before they could, a terrible blizzard fell upon them. The Swedes took their leave, and rested, but the Lapps found their opportunity to strike. The army of Ruttu snuck their way into the camp of the Swedes and massacred them. Soon after, the royal family would face the same fate when Uppsala fell. The Kingdom of Sweden ceased to exist, and the Lapps would rampage through the land.
In the summer of 1255, still a part of the same campaign, Ruttu would briefly raid the Danish province of Scania. King Christopher of Denmark would respond with attacking the Lappish army. Ruttu would handily defeat this force, and in response, demanded Scania for himself. King Christopher would never respond. Meanwhile, Ruttu would continue northward, and decided to attempt to conquer Norway once more. That November, Aslo would be plundered, with King Haakon barely escaping from his new capital. Once again, Haakon hid in the fortresses of Vestlandet, leaving Ostlandet to be taken by newly christened Ruduruda. Thus ends his third campaign.
It would not be until 1258 that he went on campaign again, and this would be much less noteworthy. In this campaign, he would conquer the Finns, unifying them with his own people. The most notable event was the sacking of the church at Abo, thus damagaing the Christianization effort of Finland. Thus ends his fourth campaign.
In 1261, Ruduruda decided that his enemy in Haakon IV shall be defeated and be removed from the mainland. That spring, he marched south from Lappland, crossed through Ostlandet, and in a maneuver that's only bettered by Hannibal, crossed the Jotunheim mountains, surprising the Norwegian armies. Not long thereafter, the army of the Norwegians would make their last stand at the battle of Guddal. Haakon IV would be among the dead, and the Norwegian Royal family would retreat to Iceland, leaving the mainland to the barbarous Lapp. Thus ends his fifth campaign.
In 1262, Ruduruda had waited seven years waiting for the Danish King to cede Scania with no response. King Christopher had died, and his regency spoke nothing about formal cessation. Even if Ruduruda ruled the land, Danes still claimed it. Ruttu responded with outright conquest. That December, the Oresund froze, and the Lappish forces crossed into Sjaelland. In the opening days of 1263, Roskilde was under siege. However, a Danish army was assembling on the other side of Sjaelland, and Ruduruda decided to face them. Leaving a force behind to continue the siege, he crossed to the other side of the island where he fought the Danes at Soro. Achieving victory once more with ease, he pursued that Danes, making sure as few would escape as possible. The Lapps were free to do as they wished on the island. However, escaping the island would be another matter, as the Danish fleet was tasked with making sure that they stay there. As Ruttu never developed a fleet of his own nor incorporated the fleets of his enemies, he had nothing to fight off the Danish navy. However, God smiles on the Scourge from the North, for that winter, the Danish straits froze again, allowing Ruduruda to cross not just to Fyn, but to Jylland as well. In the closing days of 1265, the last Danish forces would surrender. Thus ends his sixth campaign.
That winter, the Danish straights failed to freeze over, leaving Ruduruda abandoned in Jylland. However, the spring presented an opportunity for further war. In Spring of 1266, he launched his most gruesome campaign, invading the Holy Roman Empire, whom was without an emperor. Lubeck and Hamburg were sacked, and from the latter, Ruttu crossed the Elbe into the wealthy heart of Germany, only being briefly halted at Freeden by a collection of bickering princes. The battle was a massacre, with dozens of princes, barons, and knights having died in the battle, numerous dynasties snuffed out in a single day. What was too follow was worse. The wealthy cities of the Rhine and her tributaries were plundered one by one. It was said that when the Lapps were finished plundering Frankfurt, one could clearly see Cologne, with all the forest in between having been removed. Soon thereafter, a repeat at Freeden would happen at the Battle of Schwalmstadt. Dozens more nobles and clergy would be lost, and Ruduruda escaped north. Thus ends his seventh campaign.
In 1268 he would go another pillaging campaign, this time far in the east. He marched through Ingria into Estonia, where he met the forces of the Livonian Order in the Kiserwald forest. While the devilish Ruduruda would win yet another battle, this did not come without notable losses of his own. Nonetheless, Ruttu would carry down int Riga, where he would sack, but not as much as he would have liked as he was chased out by an even larger army of Livonians. From there, he would enter the Rus', where he would handily defeat the much weaker army of the Polotskians. After sacking their capital, he turned to march on Kiev, the greatest city in the east. However, he would quickly find himself humbled when he came about a Mongol army of a hundred thousand, reminding him that he might be the Great Ruduruda, but he would be no match for the Mighty Mongol. They gave him a simple demand: turn around, and leave your valuables. And that he did. The Great Ruduruda had been humbled. He turned north with his army of Lapps, sacked Smolensk, and took tribute from Novgorod. Thus ends his eighth campaign.
His final campaign would come in 1272. Starting from Lubeck he would follow the Elbe southward, his eyes set on the Elbe's jewel in Prague. First he would fight off a smaller army at the Elde river, meant only to stall that Lapps while a larger army arrives. Soon thereafter, news that Richard, the supposed King of the Romans, had died spread, meaning a new election, and every elector stood with Ottokar, King of Bohemia, to also be the King of the Romans and Holy Roman Emperor. For them, this was a matter of life or death. This would not faze the Lappish Lout, and he continued his way down the Elbe river. He would come across a second army at Stollberg, once again meant only to stall Ruduruda. Finally, when he arrived to the gates of Prague, a grand army had been assembled to challenge the Lapps. The battle of Prague commenced, and when the dust cleared, the Lapps were retreating, carrying with them the corpse of the King of the Lapps. Ruttu the Red had perished. Thus ends his ninth campaign.
