"Thank you"


You snarl through gritted teeth. Anger wells up inside of you like a storm, like an enraged beast trapped inside a frail cage of flesh and bone. Beside you, Orvyn notices your anger and tenses up, every muscle in his body is ready to spring into action. Even William notices the tension and waves discreetly to the Norman soldiers behind you. You feel cold steel pricking at your back. William glares icily, he leans forward.


"You might be wondering why you are still alive, no?"


You shrug sardonically. William pretends not to notice your insolence.


"The North has proven especially difficult to pacify. I could have you executed, and place a Norman in charge, however I believe the peasants would disapprove, and I would prefer to keep them alive"


He pauses briefly, mentally collecting his words


"As such, I am reinstating you as lord in the North, providing you swear fealty to me"


He leans even closer


"Make no mistake. You will be closely watched by one of my men, whom you will take orders from. This is not an offer. Swear to me, or die. Your choice."

You attack King William

With a short, deft movement, you leap to your left and crack a guard's knee with your boot. He gasps and collapses on the floor, cradling his injured leg.


From his limp hands you tear his spear and whip around. The guard behind you parries with his sword, but you twirl your spear around his blade and plunge it into his gut. Leaving it there, you tear the sword from his grip.


Behind you, Orvyn has also managed to acquire a weapon and is dueling with the remaining guard and the jailor. With his free hand, he waves to you


"Go, Aethelwulf, go! Kill him!"


You press onwards toward the throne. William's two guards stand ready for you. Taking a massive lunge to your right, you drive your sword at a guard's face. He deflects the blow easily with his heavy Norman kite shield, but the shield momentarily blinds him and allows you to cut past him.


William, seeing you in front of him, reaches for an ornate gilded sword at his side.


You don't give him a chance. Channeling all your strength, you drive the blade deep into his gut. Behind you, footsteps resonate, and shortly after you feel sharp steel driving into your back. It no longer matters. You keep pushing, driving the blade upwards. William's eyes roll back and his features curl into an insane grimace.


More men enter the room.


Orvyn dies.


Your hand, up to your arm, is covered in blood.


Another blade pierces you.


Your grip weakens.


You fall over, and your vision turns red.


Blood pours from your mouth, but you manage to spit out two words


"For England"

The Aftermath...

With William dead, the Norman occupation crumbles. Multiple uprisings drive the Norman force out of London.


In 1067 the Normans rally briefly under William's son, who is also named William.


In an act of vengeance, he makes his last stand in Northumbria, your home. While he waits for the impending arrival of a unified English army, he makes Northumbria bleed. Entire villages are put to the sword, and your home is no exception. Your entire family is wiped out; an ancient bloodline extinguished.


The English forces catch William II in a deft pincer; most of his army is killed during the battle. Those who are captured are put to the sword. William II is taken prisoner, he is brought to London and found guilty of numerous charges by a completely unanimous jury.


On August 18, 1067, William II, at nineteen years of age, is executed. In the next four years a wave of bloodshed rips through England. Normans in hiding are methodically sought out and killed.


By 1071, there are none left. Meanwhile, many English lords vie for the throne.


In 1072, an English lord named Ryce takes the throne, and the English monarchy is preserved.


Although you will be remembered as the man who saved England, your actions resulted in your people being massacred and your family being killed.


As history progresses, facts will fade into legend, but you will always remain.


Your name will be lost to history, but you will be remembered instead by your posthumous nickname;


The Bloody Wolf.