North Africa.
The Campaign had started in earnest and so far we had only a few skirmishes, and Sultan Abu Abd had not sent any strong unified force against us yet, we had met mostly some local resistance in form of skirmishes and raids.
My army marched unopposed going from town to town burning and looting everything we could carry and use but sparing the people so that they'd flee, causing terror and general confusion, I hoped to cause enough chaos as to draw the Sultan into an open field and it worked, well... sort of.
The enemy had gathered finally intent to face us, a size able force. We had camped a few miles away from Al-Ma'mura or La Mamora as the Portuguese and Spanish called it.
"How many did you say they were again Samir?" I asked the man whilst looking at the assembled enemy in front of me.
"Around ten thousand according to the scouts your Grace but realistically I don't think there's more than eight."
"Well we're still outnumbered; if you weren't there than we wouldn't have found this perfect spot, the elevation will greatly enhance the effect of my artillery."
"Well at the very least your men seem to have the upper hand in terms of equipment your majesty."
I adjusted my red uniform before spurring my horse onwards followed by Erik, captain of my bodyguards and Samir, I don't see why there was any need in entering negotiations, I had already sacked several towns and was very much guilty of that particular crime. Another party approached us from across the field, a group of men who were well dressed men who looked to be nobility of sorts and escorted by what I assumed was their own bodyguards. Once we stood close enough to each other we had a little stare down for a good minute, the man started speaking and Samir translated.
"Leave this place immediately Infidel, give back threefold of everything you and your men have destroyed and you may leave in peace. We already have a hard enough time dealing with rebels and bandits."
"Samir, tell him that only one of us is going to walk off this field alive. We are here as retribution for the acts of piracy committed on every Christian nation by pirates who have made this place their haven and refuge, I've come here to destroy the evil that is slavery and all those who practice it."
The man didn't seem very pleased with my words, he glared at me he shouted something in his language that I knew I didn't need any translation for, he was telling me to go fuck myself or whatever variant of the phrase was used.
With that the two parties proceeded on their own way, Meanwhile I started channelling my powers immediately as we made our way towards our side.
My men had already assembled, all of them wearing the same red uniform the few differences was that the men of higher authority and ranks had a few stripes on their shoulder like they would in a modern day army.
"Eirik, tell the men to make their final preparations for battle, Samir help me put on my armour"
The two did as they were bid, Samir followed me into my tent and helped me put my armour on I ordered him to leave me alone saying I needed to have some time to have a chat with the man upstairs although he gave me a weird look when I said that.
I lowered myself on my knees so that if anyone even entered they'd see a man prostrating himself before God. I starting singing one of the many hymns that we sang during service as I prepared myself to cast what would be my biggest spell yet.
I gathered my mana again and let it flow through my body as in my mind I made a projection of what I wanted, a group of clouds above the field of battle that covered the entire expanse of it.
I waited a minute or two then I could hear the shouts and murmurs of my men standing outside good, the clouds had formed, channeled more of the arcane energy through me I imagined light snowfall descending from the heavens. I continued singing the hymn I continued to add more 'fuel' to the spell I held it for another minute before I stopped.
My arms felt like they were burning, my hands, even my chest all felt as if someone had dragged a barbed wire through them. Catching my breath I slowly stood up, there were even more shouts than before. I opened the flaps of the tent and saw the commotion outside, the men were all riled up I couldn't tell if they were happy at the sight of snow or not.
Samir approached with my horse dressed in some spare armour that didn't quite fit him but would serve him well enough if it came down to it but his attention wasn't at me, it was taken by the falling snow.
Mounting my horse, I walked towards the frontline and the soldiers all looked at me waiting for guidance I supposed. I coughed to clear my throat, before I left Arendelle I gave as many as public speeches as possible so that I could learn how to project my voice across a large space. Oration was a talent that had been lost in the modern world in my opinion.
"Men! Today the will of heaven has brought us here today to this field of battle, here we stand face to face with heathen slavers who have attacked God's true children and sought to enslave them! Look to the sky" I pointed at the clouds above and gestured at the falling snow, "It was the Lord above who hastened our journey at sea by sending us the wintery winds, he showed us a sign, a sign of falling snow and even now he shows us that sign so that we may know he still watches over us!!"
They started nodding along as they put two and two together, it was snowing during their rather swift journey at sea and now before a battle it snowed surely the Almighty had favoured them right? Maybe the speech appealed to them but I was trying not to die from the cringe I felt at the words which exited my mouth.
"And now begins our task, these slaving heathens must all die before dawn come again, this is a mercy for they richly deserve the gallows for turning against their betters!" That got them cheering, "Lift your banners high and march away, for glory brave soldiers and a bloody day!!"
With that I gave the signal for the artillery to start firing, with a loud boom the battle for La Mamora hill had begun. I kept my fingers crossed as the cannonballs flew across the field and.... landed rather close to their targets it didn't directly hit them but it was enough to spook the enemy's men, making them clump closer to one another, a few seconds later the cannons reloaded and fired another volley.
Again not all of them hit their marks but occasionally a cannon ball managed to tear right through their ranks, now the enemy commander must have realised his predicament, either he stood his ground and watched his forces get whittled away or he advanced.
/-/
Samir watched as his new master's impressive weapons spit fire and steel further and more accurately than any other cannon he had ever seen, and the few he had seen so far were heavy bulky pots of iron that were used to crack open the toughest of walls but not good for anything else. The enemy were advancing upon them now, he watched the blocks of pike men open up and letting their skirmishers out in the open, marching in disciplined lines their red uniforms made it seem as if a wall of red pillars was moving forward, the men took their stance and opened fire on the enemy.
Hundreds of men immediately fell as a mixture of bullet, bolt and arrow descended upon the enemy, the enemy commander had sent out his cavalry around the right to flank their formation while some of his horsemen rushed forward and unleashed arrows on the skirmishers, the main body of the enemy still being clumped together had to endure the impact of iron balls hitting them at high speeds. He was not much of a commander but even he could see from this distance that discipline was starting to break and as such the men in command were shouting at their underlings to move quicker.
The skirmishers having taken a few casualties started retreating backwards, even now the stretcher bearers rushed to carry back who they could and the walking wounded trailed behind them, a group of men at the front unleashed their projectiles and retreated to the back to reload while the one right after them did the same eventually edging towards the where the pikes stood, by now the snow was covering most of the ground and it was easier to see where a person had died if you looked for the red blood stains.
He turned his head to the right and saw their own cavalry fighting with the enemy, the King's bodyguard were engaged in the melee as well, although the King's banner was missing, he could hear little "pops" erupting from time to time indicating that pistols were still being discharged at close range.
The terrible boom of the cannons had finally ceased as the main force had now reached the frontline of the pikes. If anything he had to commend his enemy's ability to continue marching onwards despite the danger and horror of having to endure bombardment, things were starting to look bad in his opinion but what did he know about military actions.
By now it felt as if he'd been standing there and watching them fight for hours but he doubted whether even an hour had passed, maybe there was still chance?
No, he was just some scribe who stuffed his nose into the wrong books and decided to play the part of the gallant hero and now... now the hour when he'd pay the price was fast approaching. And where was the King during all of this? Samir looked around and couldn't find his banner anywhere- wait he narrowed his eyes on a small group off in the distance that were pushing back another group of enemy horsemen, he could barely make it out but he saw the King's banner flying high and proud in the sea of red uniforms and shining plate.
Samir heard a great commotion and immediately swung his head around and he couldn't believe what he was seeing, the snow was starting to move!! It took shapes of men although that stood head and shoulders above them all, these strange featureless men of snow started attacking the enemy right at their flanks where their numbers were the weakest, Arendellean officers on the flanks ordered their men on the flanks to push forwards and slowly but surely started enveloping their enemy like prey caught in the pincers of a scorpion.
Then it started, one man turned around and started fleeing for his life, then another and another and soon the entire force was routing, the men didn't care about the human shaped snow creatures that were attacking some of them and managed to push past. The enemy cavalry seeing this disengaged and ran, the men at the front kept their discipline and stood their ground instead of giving chase, which was smart when the terrible booms started again with the artillery raining down on the fleeing men, the young King and the other group of horsemen freely shot down any who strayed too far from the kill zone that was set up for the artillery.
By the time they reached their own camp, most of them were either dead from the hail of cannon balls or picked off by the horsemen at the sides with their blades and Wheelock pistols. A group of riders approached them led by the Eirik, the commander of the young king's bodyguards if he were not wrong, soon after telling them that they were to immediately head to the camp and they rode away towards their own encampment.
"Ah Samir! I hoped you saw everything because I want you to write it down." The young king was sitting on top of the corpse of the man who minutes prior had been talking to them, the young man's blatant disrespect of the corpse left a foul taste in his mouth, no matter what he may have done in his life he still deserves a bit of dignity in his death.
The young man was also eating something wrapped around two slices of bread, he dearly hoped it wasn't a body part; he'd hate to be employed by a cannibal.
"But those strange creatu-"
"Disappeared, I find it easier to not think too deeply about it. It's easier on the mind and on the soul. Anyways, here translate this for me."
The young man threw a letter at him, Samir opened it and read it, re-read it and then checked again one last time to see if he missed something.
"Well?"
"The Sultan is currently trying to convince his vassals to raise their men and levies, this was the first force he could properly assemble and he immediately sent it after us. The moment he hears of this defeat he will immediately start mobilizing his forces, we must move decide our next course swiftly Your Grace."
"The town of La Mamora is nearby yes?"
"A few miles eastwards from here my lord, we should be able to reach it by nightfall provided nothing... unusual happens." Samir turned his head to the sky which had already cleared with the sun shining and the warmth it provided already melting the snow.
"Well bringing in reinforcements from the sea should be easier, all those marines sitting on the ships doing nothing but wasting away can help bolster our numbers, the regular crew can handle themselves well enough."
"If I may ask my lord, what do you hope to gain from this? Surely you did not come all this way only to kill pirates and slavers, why are you even giving the land to the Portuguese?"
Although he had heard about the deal he made with the King Manuel I, he hadn't heard the exact specifics of it, he had no doubts that the Portuguese would jump at securing the entire territory if only to have more power in trade that went in and out of the Mediterranean but that left him wondering what the Northern King was getting in return.
The boy king decided to finish his meal first before answering him, he only noticed now how much paler he looked than normal and his face looked as if he suffered from a sickness that left him weakened, maybe it was how soldiers felt after their first taste of blood.
"Navigators, I need Navigators and none are better at sailing in this current age than the Portuguese."
Satisfied with the answer Samir took his leave and made for the medical tents seeing if he could offer any help, on the way he couldn't help but overhear two of the King's bodyguard.
"His majesty's a bit odd isn't he?"
"Be mindful of your tongue and what exactly do you mean by that?"
"Well I was riding right behind him when we charged into the enemy horsemen and I could've sworn I heard him singing some hymns."
Maximilian put the letter down, seated in his office he thought over the request. The young King Edward's deeds were being told all around Europe, news of his first victory spread like fire, tales of how he defeated a force that far outnumbered him were the talk of every town, although he knew better considering his own experience in the recent civil war, an army of professional soldiers can easily defeat most scrounged up peasant levies no matter how many bodies are thrown at them. Then there was news of a second victory where the odds weren't as bad as the first one but he was still outnumbered, that too he won with ease according to word.
The part he was more sceptical was the stories about how it snowed on the day of his first battle, now he wasn't an expert regarding weather but he was very sure that it didn't snow in Africa of all places.
Then there was the other stories, about angels made of the purest snow falling upon the ranks of the heathens, he wasn't one to discount miracles having seen many things that could count as miracles in his life as a soldier but that seemed too... fantastical for one to believe unless they saw it with their own eyes.
He turned his eyes back to the letter on the table, the boy had asked for his daughter Margret's hand in marriage as his mind went back to what he knew of the boy. He wasn't a bad choice as far as sons in law went, his banker Jakob Fugger had mentioned the boy in one of their conversation, and being curious he asked him what he thought about him, Jakob seemed to have a rather high respect for the boy and told him that the young man was rather 'practical'.
The young King had taken a rather large loan from the banker and managed to return it earlier than Fugger had expected, all due to his creation of a printing houses and the subsequent flooding of the continent with Arendellian Bibles, the script was fine and easy to read with consistent style.
These books were made in mainly two forms a regular bible that was just the scripture itself in the form of a plain regular book and there was the more finely made and decorated edition which was clearly meant for the upper classes or anyone that had the means and money to buy one. He even owned one, the boy had gifted him one on the eve of his victory.
Although it had brought on the wrath of scribes and traditional bookmakers all around Europe, they couldn't compete with the quality and quantity of these new Bibles flooding the market. Many traditional printing presses had to be closed down because they could no longer compete with movable metal type printing presses and books flooding in from Arendelle. He didn't know how exactly he was out producing traditional printing presses but he decided to let that secret lie in its bed for now.
But Bibles were not the only thing to leave the northern island; books of all kinds were being printed. Books on natural treatises, history books but the second highest selling books after the Holy Scripture were story books, there was much variety in the genre of stories, and his personal favourite was a collection of short humorous stories and jokes even though he found some of them to be a bit crude for his taste.
There was another side effect to this, many parishes and monks were now complaining about being deprived a major source of income.
Speaking of which the boy had rather.... unorthodox views about the Church; the boy was utterly convinced that the Church in Rome needed to be reformed and it was 'corrupt and decadent', his writings had started circulating around and were making rounds here and there the fact that he had access to a large printing house meant he could easily mass produce and spread his ideas around although it wasn't unorthodox enough to warrant an investigation by the church, perhaps he could give it a try as well?
There were many possibilities, spreading misinformation or making himself look good in light, turning an absolute blunder in a battle into a valiant defeat, yes there were many possibilities with this.
He thought more closely about the boy's offer, so far he had proven himself to be a capable ruler, military commander and quite the business man. If he were to be brought into the fold by marrying his daughter to the young man (and the unsaid alliance that went along with it), he had an useful ally against the Kalmar Union and if it came down to it an ally against France since England was bound to be dealing with the Scots in the case of war and couldn't be counted upon to land forces on the mainland if he allied himself with them.
The boy was much like his father, driven and viewing himself as a man of the people being the white knight that all can call upon for help, all his works of charity pointed towards it, he let a small smile form on his face remembering the days of his youth with Agnarr, the northerner had as much impact on him as he had on Agnarr.
The boy through influence of his father instilled in him the importance of a strong head of government with a lot of authority and he had impressed upon the boy the ideals of the more idealized version of Chivalry.
Yes, maybe this wasn't such a bad idea. He would have to wait for his future son in law to arrive back from his little Crusade first before anything regarding a wedding (And the alliance that followed) can be finalized.
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Cape of Good Hope, South Africa.
Alfred finished writing down the last of the reports for the day as he got up from his office and walked out to stretch his legs, they had arrived here less than a week ago and already set up walls, latrines and towers to watch out for anyone who would attack them, he doubted it though, they hadn't seen another soul in the week since the ships had left them.
Just him, two hundred settlers, the fifty soldiers who guarded them and some odd seventy freed slaves, he was aware that their numbers would grow in the following weeks with all the former slaves arriving so he had to act fast and create a stable food supply for the settlement, supplies that arrived with the ships could not sustain them for long.
Being the third son of a noble house he was rather far away from inheriting his father's estates, nonetheless his father had schooled him in both warfare and management of an estate. Thankfully for him he qualified for the position of Governor for this new settlement after passing the written exam set up by the King.
He knew that this wasn't the only attempt at building new settlements in far flung places that the King and his government were attempting, he wasn't the only one who was in the room when the King met them, and there were two other men alongside.
The King explained his wish to gather new territories in the New World and the Far East, then he handed each of them a different ledger each of their covers designating which territories they would be assigned to.
'Your first instructions are written in these books, when an expedition is ready to be launched I'll summon you with further instructions at the ready.' He told them, Alfred had spent the rest of the year gathering up willing colonists and decided whether or not to take them along as he weighed their professions and what they could do for the new settlement alongside how many resources it would cost to transport, feed and provide housing for them.
And so it was that he and a hundred and fifty settlers accompanied the King on his 'crusade' and waited for the King's instructions in Portugal, news soon spread of his victory and they immediately hopped onto ships again, this time headed towards what was called the Cape of Good Hope.
At the news of the King's first victory they were scurried onto the ships again with a few Portuguese additions to the crew of their ships.
Landsbyen ved Kapp they called it, village at the Cape or Cape Village to shorten it, he suggested New Arendelle to the King but it turns out his fellow settler in the New World had already taken it and the King insisted that he would not have multiple settlements sharing the same name.
He made his way towards the large building that made up the school where the children were being taught letters and numbers, the building was made of timber that was brought along with by the ships and some they collected from the nearby trees and was divided into multiple rooms where children were separated by their age.
Off to the side were a few children being taught their tongue, they were former slaves who were freed during the King's campaign many of them were orphans who had been either stolen from their parents or had been sold separately.
He felt a pang in his heart whenever he saw them, while he was never outright hated by his father but he often felt neglected due to being a spare son while his elder brothers got all the praise, to an extent he could sympathize with them.
"Is there something I can help you with Governor?" he was brought out of his trance by one of the teachers.
"Yes, how have the children been doing? Is there anything I could help with?"
"They're fine Governor, although the 'new additions' have been having a hard time adjusting, from what little conversation we could have so far many of them still miss their homes and parents. But give it time, they'll warm up eventually."
"If they have any issue they're welcome to come talk to me about it, I'll try to help them to the best of my power."
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New Arendelle, The New World.
Frode Hansen was a busy man, ever since he applied for the King's exam for an administrative post his world had been turned upside down. He never expected that he would be one of the top three candidates nor did he expect that he'd be the top candidate; he was the third son of a merchant and now Governor of New Arendelle.
Right now his only job was to make sure that the colony was up and running as fast as possible, the fact that the King would be eyeing his progress in particular was what made him nervous.
According to what he could gather his expedition was the first one that had been launched, first thing they did when they arrived as per instructions of the king was to secure a source of fresh water and proper sewage and sanitation, the king was particular about that saying he didn't want people falling ill.
He didn't know how exactly those two were connected but having streets that don't smell like shit would be nice.
"So how's it going? Is there enough to feed everyone?" he asked the farmer who was surveying the land in front of him.
The king had the foresight to send them along with the necessary equipment to start farming immediately, cast iron ploughs and seed drills to make sure the farms were up and running at maximum efficiency.
"Yes Lord Governor but just barely, we won't have a surplus that's for sure but we'll have enough to feed everyone assuming everything goes right and if you're worried about food that much my lord then we can still hunt and fish."
Lord Governor that was a title that he was getting used to more and more, 'You earned it God damn it! Carry the seal of authority with some pride and with a straight back!' Was his father's response when he expressed his doubts to him, he took a breath to calm himself and continued the survey with the man who was according to the king an expert in the science of agriculture.
Finishing the survey he mounted his horse and travelled back towards the walled off town, they had set out from Arendelle in the middle of winter which was honestly stupid in his opinion but who was he to question the authority of a King?
They had arrived in the New World around the next year around right before spring; the new colonists arrived and had a small feast of celebration before immediately beginning work next day.
He rode past the gate as the guards greeted and let him in, the strong walls of timber would hold firm until the town was big enough to warrant it having proper fortifications of stone the only building of stone that was being built right now was the town church although it wasn't fully completed as of yet, he doubted they would get attacked though, any European power that would have interest in them was a world away and he hadn't seen any of the natives that the King was talking about hopefully they were just shy and not waiting for their opportunity to strike or anything.
He had to stop his horse to scream at a bunch of children who came running out of nowhere, that was another odd thing about the King's rules to the children, he insisted that they be educated to learn, write, basic math at the very least and all children no matter who their mother or father or whether they were men or women was to be given the right to attend school.
He rode towards another section of the town where the new buildings were being constructed for the arrival of the new colonists to oversee the progress, the architect that the King sent along with them was an arrogant man who took slights easily but was a genius at what he did, he directed the construction of the town's palisade and the job was finished much quicker than he expected.
As he watched the men worked and talked to each other in a friendly manner Frode wondered what his family was doing, his father and mother had decided to stay in Arendelle with his brother to look after the family business, he wondered if they missed him as much as he was missing them.
(A/N) - Here's another Chapter done for you now, I dunno how exactly to feel about this one but it's mainly to show what's been going on elsewhere while Edward was in Morrocco. Btw the Printing press Eddie uses is of the Stanhope varient as opposed to the traditional Gutenberg styled press.
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(A/N) – Alright here's another chapter grinded out, I am once again getting the feeling that the writing is going all over the place, I have this feeling that some of my dialogues feel a bit too... "dry" same thing with my writing in general it feels too dry. Anyways I felt as if the battle could have be written better but I am sorely lacking time to do research, I'll let the poll stay until the time limit on it ends and then I'll hold another general vote, but it really depends on the suggestions you guys pile up.
I think the map by Sanbashi is probably the best representation right now.
Dunno how to fix it just click this: https://i.imgur.com/ZsLrWsV_d.webp?maxwidth=640&shape=thumb&fidelity=medium
Edit: Updated Maps https://imgur.com/a/iG4JMLc
https://imgur.com/a/1NLZ3QL
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