Angus McFife XIII

## Facts

Angus Hale McFife (958-1021) was an ancient Scottish warrior and king of Scotland from 1003-1021.

His story is based on lore by heavy metal band Gloryhammer, though this version is completely different.

## Life (note: not based on actual events within the server and all years are AD)

Angus was born into Scotland's royal family on August 5th 958 AD in the town of East Linton. For reasons unknown, 9 years later he was sent to live in the country's capital city, Edinburgh.

The early years of his life were rather uneventful, but when he was 10 years old, in 968, the English army, led by a famous general named Zargothrax, invaded Scotland and sacked the city of Edinburgh. Several hundred thousand Scots were killed, including his father, King Angus McFife XII, and the city was completely destroyed. With the state Scotland was left in following the English attack, the people would be unable to rebuild the city, and were forced to migrate as a result. Angus’ older brother, Douglas, became king.

The Scottish people left the ruins of Edinburgh and headed 56 miles north to the city of Dundee, which was declared the new capital. Angus swore revenge on the English for the attack on Edinburgh, and in 976 he left Dundee for the town of Crail to study and train for the army.

Crail was a fortified town in the kingdom of Fife on the east coast of Scotland. The town had its own paramilitary force, the Knights of Crail. They were some of the most feared warriors in all of Scotland, and are believed to have been completely undefeated from their establishment in 887 all the way up to when the force was absorbed into the Scottish national army in 1041.

The training procedures were extremely strenuous, and only around 400 people were lucky enough to pass them every year. But in the year 980, one of these people was a young member of the Scottish royal family, and his name was Angus Hale McFife.

That year, after 4 years of strenuous physical and mental training, Angus passed his exams at military school and joined the knights of Crail as a swordsman. That same year, Ser Proletius became the knights' grand master. Proletius was the definition of a military genius, and he had been responsible for several Scottish victories against the English.

Crail's army was mainly involved in raids against Northumberland, with Lindisfarne and Bamburgh castle being 2 notable targets. The latter would be the site of Angus McFife's first battle with the Knights of Crail, and he proved to be an extremely talented soldier and, according to a battle report written by Proletius, he killed 30 Englishmen and made it away from the battlefield unscathed.

A division from Alnwick attempted to stage a raid on Crail in 993. This would unfortunately be Angus' final stand with the town's army, as he was critically injured and almost killed by English swordsmen, as well as losing his left leg. After 4 years away from the front line, Angus would return to battle, though he left Crail and joined the Scottish national army. Here, he saw heavy action in much more of England than just Northumberland. His first known battle with the Scottish army was the siege of Carlisle in 998. This is also believed to be the first time he used hammers in battle, as well as when he first wore a horned helmet.

Angus' life was very busy at the beginning of the new century. In 1000, he met and began dating Iona McDougall. The 2 became virtually inseparable from one another, and married about a year after they first met.

In 1002, king Douglas McFife died with no clear heir to the throne. Because he had not had the chance to name an heir, there was now a succession crisis, and Angus now found himself fighting for the Scottish throne with his half brother, Duncan.

Duncan was King of the Welsh island of Anglesey at the time, and openly despised Angus. So when Duncan found out that he was the other claimant to the Scottish throne, he sailed to Scotland to take the crown by force.

In December of 1002, Duncan and about 2000 men landed at Oban and marched eastward towards the capital. Angus and his own considerably larger army soon halted the invading forces and fought them at the battle of Dunkeld on New Year's Eve. The invaders were defeated, and Duncan was killed.

After staying the night in Dunkeld, the defenders returned home, and Angus was crowned King Angus McFife XIII of Scotland on New Year's Day 1003. And the second he took the throne, Angus began raising an army in preparation for an invasion of England.  But not just any part of England. Angus decided that it was finally time to pay back the English for what they did to Edinburgh all those years ago, and set his eyes on England’s capital city: London.

2 years later, the day came for Scotland to invade England. On April 18th 1005, a Scottish army over a million strong consisting of Angus and Iona with the Scottish national army, Ser Proletius and the Knights of Crail, Lord Ralathor of Fife and King Robert II of the Isle of Unst left Dundee and headed south.

Once they crossed the English border, the Scottish army went full blast, decimating everything in its path in an unrelenting 5 day long charge. Nothing stood in their way.

At around 7 o'clock in the evening of April 24th, the enormous Scottish army rushed into London, with McFife personally leading the charge. The Scots had been able to take the English completely by surprise as the sentinels failed to spot the approaching invaders in the darkness.

London was completely annihilated. Several thousands of Englishmen were killed, the dead piled high in the streets. General Zargothrax had since retired and was now approaching 90 years old, but that didn't stop Angus. The Scottish king tracked Zargothrax down and killed him with his famous war hammer.

The Scots didn't plan on staying in London long, but they were forced to retreat after the English army quickly rallied together and chased the invaders out of their once mighty capital. They followed the Scots all the way to the Anglo-Scottish border, where Angus made the decision to deliberately blow up the Royal Border Bridge after the Scots had made it across. Every English soldier there was killed either by the explosion or by the fall.

The Scots returned to Dundee early in the morning of April 29th 1005, and did so in triumph. As far as Angus was concerned, he had paid the English back for the raid on Edinburgh all those years ago, and the Scots could now be at peace.

In 1015, Angus ordered that the city of Edinburgh was to be rebuilt. June 1019 would see the first people moving in since it's destruction 51 years prior, but would not be completed until 1071, long after Angus's death.

The next half a decade or so was rather uneventful, but on October 5th ,1021 an English force attacked Dundee. The invading army was definitely not capable of total obliteration of the city (and the invaders knew this), but still big enough to pose a sizable threat. The Scots fought hard against the English attackers, and it looked like they were about to drive them right out of the city. But the defenders were overpowered when a second division arrived.

One particular soldier, General Sir Arthur Rhodes, managed to break into the citadel and stab Angus. Rhodes had been a dedicated follower of the late Zargothrax, and claimed that he was taking his vengeance for Angus killing him.

As the defending forces pushed the English out of Dundee, the royal guards arrived. They were able to intercept and kill Rhodes during his escape attempt, but were unfortunately too late to save the king.

Angus McFife XIII died at around 9:30pm on October 5th 1021, at the age of 63. His now widow Iona became queen of Scotland after his death. His death was followed by a week-long period of mourning, and a celebration of his life took place the day after his death was announced.

People in Scotland generally remember Angus favourably, from all perspectives. His wife of 20 years, Iona McDougall, described him as 'a relentless, dedicated man who cared endlessly about those around him'. His immense military talent is also remembered. The now deceased Scottish general Robert Townsend, his former commander, recalled Angus' role in the siege of Carlisle in 998. According to him, he had impeccable leadership qualities for his age, and helped to motivate the Scottish army when it looked like they were going to be defeated, and led the final charge into the city. That was the moment when Carlisle fell.

October 5th, 2021 marked 1000 years since Angus' death. To commemorate his life, the people of Scotland erected a huge copper statue of him in Dundee city centre. The statue depicts him wearing his trademark horned helmet and carrying a huge hammer, as he would've in the attack on London.

The statue is located right next to Angus' tomb, which was constructed in the days after his death. Another monument, simply a smaller statue depicting just a hammer, like the one Angus used in battle, was built in East Linton, which had been Angus' birthplace.

A thousand years may have passed since Angus left the Earth, but his epic legacy will never fade. If you ask any person anywhere in Scotland about the people of the country's history, one name will always stand out: King Angus Hale McFife XIII.

## Trivia

* He is based on a character created by heavy metal band Gloryhammer
* Events on the server take place a milennium after he passed away
* His statue has been vandalised a total of 6 times by CrumpetCraig. One with a penis carved into the top of his head, another in the back of his head, and another on his hammer. The remaining three were penises built on him made out of dirt, cobblestone and endstone

## Gallery

Angus' statue in Dundee City CentreAngus' memorial in East Linton, where he was born in 958 ADHeavy metal band Gloryhammer at Bloodstock 2021. Former lead vocalist Thomas Winkler in character as Angus McFife XIIIThe entrance to his tomb in DundeeInside his tomb in Dundee