RT Interactive Twine

Brian Boru: The Story [[Start->Start]] [[Bibliography->Bibliography]]

You are now playing as Brian Boru. You are the son of Cennetig, a ruler in Ireland in the early 10th century. Your father rules most of modern-day Munster, the province in the south west of Ireland. Your father had many children, with as many as eleven sons, and countless daughters. You were his youngest son, but Cennetig's first nine sons died while you were stil a child. When you are 20, your father dies, and the rule of your father's land goes to your older brother, Mathgammain. Mathgammain is a fair and just ruler, until his untimely demise after 12 years of his rule. He was killed by your greatest enemy; the Norsemen, who ruled the kingdom to the east of you. You take over the kingdom from your last brother, but you have to decide what to do with the treacherous Norsemen. [[Avenge your brother->Avenge]] [[Do not avenge your brother->Do Not Avenge]]

Bibliography Boland, Frederick Henry, John O'Beirne Ranelagh, Robert Walter Dudley Edwards, Ronan Fanning, and Sean Kay. "Ireland." Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Last modified October 25, 2016. https://www.britannica.com/place/Ireland/The-Norse-invasions-and- their-aftermath#ref148402. Cavendish, Richard. "Brian Boru, High King of Ireland, Killed." History Today. Last modified March 2014. Accessed January 23, 2017. http://www.historytoday.com/richard-cavendish/brian-boru-high-king- ireland-killed. Duffy, Sean. "What did Brian Boru ever do for us?" Irish Times. Last modified April 10, 2014. Accessed January 23, 2017. http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/heritage/what-did-brian-boru- ever-do-for-us-1.1755758. MacDermot, Brian. The Annals of Loch Cé. Translated by Hennessy Maunsell William. London, UK: Longman, 1871.

(set: $avenge to true)You avenge your brother Mathgammain and kill the Norse ruler of Limerick, all of his sons, and all other rivals for the throne. You then take over all of Southern Ireland, and start on your quest to become king of all of Ireland. You decide to make an alliance with the king of a kingdom north of your own, Máel Seachnaill mac Domnaill. Two years later, you take over Dublin, but a former Norse ruler, Sitric Silkbeard, wants to the throne from you. What do you do? [[Establish Sitric Silkbeard as an equal->Equal]] [[Eliminate Sitric Silkbeard entirely->Eliminate]] [[Establish Sitric Silkbeard as a lower class ruler, so that he has some power, but not much->Lesser]]

(set: $avenge to false)You did not avenge your brother, so you were not able to take Limerick from the Norsemen at the time. Your quest to become the king of Ireland is not going too well. About twenty years into your rule, you ally with the king of Meath, Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill. Two years later, you take Dublin, the current capital of Ireland, but Sitric Silkbeard, a former norse ruler, still wants to rule. What do you do? [[Establish Sitric Silkbeard as an equal->Equal]] [[Eliminate Sitric Silkbeard entirely->Eliminate]] [[Establish Sitric Silkbeard as a lower class ruler, so that he has some power, but not much->Lesser]]

(set: $equal to true)(if: $avenge is true)[You establish Sitric Silkbeard as your equal. You aren't able to get control of your people very easily, because Sitric and the other Norsemen are still in control of some parts of Ireland. Then...](if: $avenge is false)[You were very quickly viewed as a very weak leader. Because you did not avenge your brother, and you did not combat Sitric Silkbeard, you are very quickly overthrown, and then] [[...->Death]]

(set: $eliminate to true)(if: $avenge is true)[You rule peacefully, with no one challenging your right to the throne. You defeat your enemies, the Norsemen, and then...](if: $avenge is false)[You are rebelled against by the Norsemen because you killed their leader. Then...] [[...->Death]]

(set: $lesser to true)(if: $avenge is true)[You establish Sitrick Silkbeard as your lesser, and put him on the throne as your assistant of sorts. Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill, for unknown reasons, decides to surrender his rule of northern Ireland to you in 1002. You rule peacefully for eleven more years, until a large rebellion of Leinstermen, lead by Sitric Silkbeard, decides to attack. You fight for many months, until...](if: $avenge is false)[You establish Sitrick Silkbeard as your lesser, and put him on the throne as your assistant of sorts. Because you chose not to avenge your brother, and you didn't take over the rest of Southern Ireland, you have very little power. You do not rule with support, and very quickly a rebellion takes place against you, led by Sitric Silkbeard himself. Then...] [[...->Death]]

(if: $avenge is true)[(if: $equal is true)[You die at a fairly old age, only owning a small portion of land. You do not become famous, and no one knows your name.](if: $eliminate is true)[You live a very long life, and people remember you for your aggressiveness and cruelty. You are remembered for a fairly long time.](if: $lesser is true)[You die an honorable death in battle. Your name is known for many hundreds of years afterwards, and you are remembered as the last true King of Ireland.]](if: $avenge is false)[(if: $equal is true)[You are quickly squashed out of leadership by the Norsemen. Ireland is not freed as quickly as you would have made it if you had made the choice of avenging your brother or if you had chosen to prove your power to the Norsemen when Sitric challenged you. No one remembers you.](if: $eliminate is true)[You are killed by the Norsemen. You are forgotten, because of the Norsemens' control of your kingdom after you die.](if: $lesser is true)[The Norsemen kill you in battle. You are viewed as a fairly weak leader, and are squashed from history. The Norse retake Ireland, and you are forgotten.]]