The royal marriage went off without a hitch, with king Maredudd marrying the sister of the king of the Trinovantes. A lavish celebration went on in Liverpool, at the end of it the king of Trinovantes being thoroughly persuaded that the Ordovices were a peaceful and fun-loving kingdom.
The Silures, on the other hand, were not so easy to achieve a royal marriage with. They identified more closely with the celts of the continent than the celts of the isles, and didn't want to lower themselves to marrying with the less civilised people north of them - the Ordovices included.
Even when offered a gift in exchange for the marriage, they were still reluctant - the gift was not large enough to fully sway them, and accepting influence in their kingdom's affairs in exchange for money was something that the lords of Silures did not want.
It was only when Maredudd showed the king of the Silures the might of his army, and offered to protect the Silures and support them in any of their military campaigns, was the king of Silures swayed to allow the royal marriage.
As the details of the marriage were sorted, Maredudd decided to focus more on domestic affairs. He organised the clearing of land in Liverpool, to obtain more wood and to increase space to build houses.
He also sent some merchants to Antwerp, a new centre of trade that had expanded from a minor coastal town to a booming city. Directing the trade towards Liverpool early would limit the amount of competition they have, with only the Roman Empire having merchants truly established there.
From Antwerp also came new styles of literature and dress. It was a golden age for culture in the Ordovices, with more artists and poets than ever before - if he was so inclined, king Maredudd could hire them to his court, but he did not yet feel any need for such.
Eventually, the marriage with the Silures was prepared, with new music from Antwerp taking a foremost role in the celebrations in Liverpool.
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