1092.

Thorfinn MacBeth leaves the Wolf Faction to take command of the new Bears Faction formed from the chaotic warring tribes of Caledonia. He is the last surviving relative of the Caledonian Royalty, albeit a tenuous link.  He brings with him the Isles of Orkneyjar, where amongst other Norse/Celt groups, the Sons of Orthos (exiles from Norsca) & the Grey Swords, a mercenary group who wish to settle down and become farmers, reside. Clan Ursa saves the faction standard from capture.

The Sons of Orthos, headed by Lord Jona Orthosson, are the only unit in the Bears to hold their position on the field of battle and are awarded lands on the Northernmost Coast of Caledonia, including the seat of the last Norse king of Caledonia, the port of Thorsca.

In a ceremony carried out by the High Druid, Thorfinn's scribe married all 20 of Hildegard's Hellmaidens and was never seen again.

The Lions invade Norhault, formerly under the protection of the Bears.

The battle is lost mostly due to being downhill from the enemy and being outnumbered.

1093.

In honour of the Goddess, 3 Queens are elected, each to be embodied with an element of the spirit of the Goddess. The 3 Queens are:
Megan MacTwatum (Cerridwen), Heather McLoony (Morigan) and Helham MacTwatem (Blodwyn).

The Shire Bounders make their first appearance in the faction. The Sons of Orthos accept their Celtic heritage and were renamed Clan Orthos.

Thorfinn announces that he will be leaving on a quest to defeat Satn.  A council of clan leaders chooses Angus MacTwatem to rule in his absence, with Jona as second in command.

Both sides claim victory in the battle due to different objectives.  The Bears killed and took the head of Theotan, Head of the Gryphons.

1094.

Rumours of Angus MacTwatem's kidnapping and death are greatly exaggerated as Angus reads about it in the morning paper.

Jona is banished from Clan Orthos for relations with a Drow princess.  His successor is Erik Bloodaxe of 'Force Ten from Asgard', the elite fighting force of Clan Orthos.  Erik's second in command is the Big Green One, Mangus Mangussonsson with his pet, Clubbo the seal. Timandahalf Wodensson of Clan Orthos becomes the Head Ritualist.

Angus and Erik meet with Lord Wolf over a dispute over ownership of Orkneyjar, at which it was agreed that the Bears would remain in control of the Isles, but peoples of both factions could live there.  At the end of the meeting, Lord Wolf stood up and said "So, Orkneyjar is mine then !". Angus stood up and said "Fuck Right Off !"; Lord Wolf then said "Okay" and sat down.  Clearly the events that followed lead us to believe that Lord Wolf misunderstood that last comment of Angus.

Angus dies heroically in the charge in the battle won by the Bears, largely due to Clan Orthos' magical 'Crimson Wind'.  Erik approaches the Queens and asks that they take power under the leadership of the Ceredwyn. (At least until Thorfinn's return).

Erik, surviving a terrible blow to the head is mysteriously washed overboard in calm waters on his way back to Orkneyjar.  Mangus Mangussonsson survives and once again gains promotion due to the death of his superior.

1095.

Thorfinn returns but has a vision of his own death in battle.  Mephisto McSnaga takes over as Head Ritualist from Timandahalf who is on a sabbatical.  The queens are each embodied with increased powers by Mephisto.  The Ceredwyn now has the power of foresight and can divine the location of items and people through meditation.  The new Blodwyn (Shenanigans McDroo) has unlimited healing, and the Morigan can shape-change and when frenzied, has the strength of 10 men.

A pretender, Sean McCormack, tries to usurp power from the Queens, supported by the McBoars, McMads and some McFinns. He is exiled along with his supporters and finds refuge in the Gryphons.

The Morigan becomes pregnant with her husband Thorfinn's child.  Barking McLoony marries Brazen McDroo under the ministration of Brother Brewer.

The McYokels introduce the Bears to a number of new  songs, including the smash hit 'Celts of the West Country'. The McSnagas meanwhile take part in a ritual that brings forth their Orc side at night.

Thorfinn dies in battle from his wounds and is carried off to Valhalla by a valkyrie.  The Bears win the battle aided by the fearsome Scarecrow of the McYokels.

1096.

The Morigan finds herself increasingly unable to control her berserk rages. It is discovered that she is in ascension and must take over as the senior queen if she is to remain sane.

A document is discovered depicting a pendant worn by 'Lord' Wraith Buchannen.  It suggests that the bearer is the future True King of the Celts.  Since the Dragons were seeking their lost king at this time and through other statements on the document actually found their king, the prophecy was deemed to relate to them.

Mangus Mangussonsson binds a demon into himself and sets about forming the Ritualist's Guild.  After much tension with the Mage's Guild, things settle down when Floris Brand joins. Mangus creates the Chair of Diplomacy, enabling the Bears to hold meetings with hostile VIPs with ease.

A joint ritual takes place between Mephisto McSnaga and Jafar of the Dragons to create a sword and an amulet that while potent apart are powerful indeed when together.  Known as the Sword of Alliance.  The 2 parts are held separately in each faction, but will join in battle as all celts fight side by side.

The battle was lost as we were hideously outnumbered.

Oh yes ... and it rained ...... lots.

1097.

The Faction Army General Wraith Buchannen makes the decision to leave the Ceredwyn to her fate while under siege by the goblin army, for the sake of a small port.  While at the dwarven settlement of Rockholm, all 3 Queens tried Wraith for treason. He was found guilty, and before sentence could be passed, he fled to the safety of the Lion's home of Avalon.

At the Moot, Wraith came to an unfortunate messy end as he appeared in a transport circle just as a number of heavily armed Bears passed out from heat exhaustion waiting for a ritualist to transport them ... falling onto the newly arrived Wraith.

Thomas Finn is kidnapped by Unicorns while in a skirmish, dragged away and murdered. Nobby McYokel is killed by a poisoned blade while off fighting undead.  Denzil McYokel takes over as Clan Chieftain.

Barking McLoony, Knight's Chancellor, is killed while defending the lands from undead.  Mangus  (he of the ego) decided to do the Ritual of Peace and 'died' in a most spectacular fashion.  But his ego lives on and he was seen flitting in and out of the camp towards the end of the weekend.

The Bears and Dragons marched on the Unicorn camp and delivered a magical bottom-implanting turnip.

Hamish MacLoony and Angus MacTwatum's ancestral spirits appeared in the camp and generally created mayhem demanding all sorts of things from the living Bears.  Most requests were accepted, including erecting a bar at the newly built gate.  In return Angus and Hamish agreed to stop bullying the ancestors and give the Bear Incantors back their Incantor power that had been waning.

Mordred (the chaotic one) made Scafloc of the Exiles believe he was the Morigan.  He dressed in a mini kilt and floral head-dress and even nearly came to blows with the real Morigan when she discovered him sitting in her throne!  He recovered much to everyone's disappointment.

1098

Yargon McYokel is recognised by the Morrigan for the great work he has done for the faction and is enobled. Now Laird of the Highlands, he saves the Bears from danger by facing down Malice and Avarice, embodiments of the darker side of our nature.

Craggle Finnhorn MacGregor (Craggy) is also enobled, becoming Laird General of the Armies.

At the Gathering, a large demonic figure, believed to be the son of Satun, was attacking all who opposed him. He seemed to avoid the Bears camp as we were quite happy to invite anyone in for a drink. While he was laying waste to the Dragons' Camp, Mephisto McSnaga went up and offerred him a drink. This seemed to confuse the demon who was used to people running away when he roared.

It turned out that the Dragons had lost part of the Sword of Alliance and pinned the embarrassing incident firmly on the shoulders of Lord Arcane.

An agreement was made that the following year, the Bears would lend some land to Lord Lynsall of the Tarantulas Faction to host the next Gathering above ground.

Mr Silly (Floris Brand) left for good, leaving many upset Bears behind.

1099

Yargon McYokel was ... escorted ... to a remote island to find peace with the ancestors. rumours abounded that he had gone mad. In his place, the Morrigan enobled Mephisto McSnaga, now the Foreign Minister. He made it his first duty to get captured by the Gasharim.

The Bears were itching for a fight with the Dragons to the extent that they even had t-shirts printed to that effect. The Morrigan's recently re-discovered sword, The Wrath of the Morrigan, was sold by an unscrupulous merchant who it had been left with for safe keeping. It very quickly became hot property and nearly ended in the death of Grandmaster Silk of the .. Scouts Guild.

Caledonia came under threat of the Formorii. The Lord of Summer, a major figure in the Formorii race, sent his minions to destroy the Queens. Balor himself, the most ancient of all Formorii marched on the camp and was only held off by Duke Scafloc. Balor, finding he couldn't harm Scafloc, threw him over the walls of other camps (Free Flying Lessons !).

Due to the death of Lord Lynsall of the Tarantulas, the land leased to him was ceded to Laird Kalanar, formerly Ambassador to the Bears and now Head of the Paladins (Paddlin's ?) of Lloth.

In the final battle, the Dragons (numbering approx 700) faced off against the Bears (numbering approx 300). The Dragons charged using their famous column. Their column was flanked by the Gryphons and King Ash was teleported away. Laird High Ritualist, Lament, challenged Lord Irmir of the Dragons and beat him convincingly. With the Cerridwen offering executions for anyone not pushing back against the column, the Dragons were routed and the Bears had convincingly won the day.

1100

Mephisto McSnaga becomes the Laird Provost & First Minister of Caledonia. Chief insulting McThug becomes Foreign Minister and Baron Hornagh becomes High Ambassador.

Shannon O'Cleary gets in trouble for allegedly aiding the Grey Knights, a cross-factional group who stupidly takes offence to some Bears.

The Formorri invade en masse and capture almost all of the north western isles. They lay seige to Pitlochry, the capital, only to be fought back over 4 days and nights of heavy fighting from the clansmen and forces of Tarantulas headed by General Hellbron. Rory MacTwatem (now married to the Cerridwen) grievously injures the Lord of Summer by dropping a wardrobe from the battlements.

Jihad of the Wolves attacks and kills 2 of the Exiles, including General Urian in an act of cold-blooded murder, after publically stating he had tried to pay to put a hit out on the Exiles. In the chaos that followed, Baron Hornagh was slain. As the Bears tried selflessly to protect the Exiles, they accept the name of Clan MacBeth in deferance to the Morrigan.

During a mission to the Isle of Muck, Lament MacBeth recovers the lost Black Cauldron of Caledonia. It is handed over to the new Head of the Bears Dark Incantors, Sir Gerren MacBeth for safe keeping.

Chief Insulting McThug dies in mysterious circumstances.

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