Chapter 74: Twelve Ancient Families
14th September, Rune Era 1420.
Railway Station, Bloodstone City, Territory of Thornevale.
Bloodstone City was a metropolis between rolling hills, thick forests, and a winding river that cut through the landscape. Tall brick buildings lined narrow, cobblestone streets, their chimneys constantly puffed smoke into the air. The city buzzed with energy, from bustling markets to quiet alleyways. Industrial buildings also stood in rows on the eastern side, making the sky appear a bit gloomier. Unlike Giaris, there was no snow, nor did any appearance of the dense, smoky atmosphere.
As Stephane, Raven, and Selene walked out of the train, Jacob carried the luggage with his hand and spoke.
"This city acted as a fortress before the arrival of Wizards and was a defensive line against monsters and magical beasts from the Great Hillcrow Woodlands for centuries. But thanks to the advancement of machinery and Aether weapons, this city became more stable and never went through any big invasions from the monsters."
"Oh? What happened to the Magical Beasts?" Raven asked as they made their way into the platform.
"They must have gone deeper into the woodlands. I heard that only Rank-1 or Rank-2 Magical Beasts appeared near the city. Even they appear very rarely." Jacob said while guiding them to the station’s main hall.
"Still, this city sure attracts a lot of Walkers," Raven said as he looked around the main hall of the railway station.
"That's to be expected, My Lord. The hunted ones became the hunters, after all. Before the arrival of wizards, we needed more than 10 Walkers to kill a same-rank Magical Beast. But the arrival of Aether Equipment changed everything." Jacob spoke as he pointed his finger at the long rifle behind his back.
"A Walker can solo a Magical Beast?" Raven asked in surprise.
"Of course not, My Lord. One still needs two or three more Warlocks' help to kill the same Rank Magical Beast. Alas, it's way easier than before. Also, the introduction of potions and improvement in modern medicine made things so much easier for Walkers." He paused momentarily to look around and soon said in a low voice.
"This city is under the control of Margrave Lucus Thornevale. The Thornevale Family is one of the Twelve Ancient Families of the Empire and has a deep background. From what I heard from Reece, the Thonevales are famous for taming magical beasts and using them in their battles. They also form contracts with magical beasts and borrow their strength during battles."
Raven recalled that Reece could also tame beasts and monsters and became curious about his identity.
"Is Reece also a member of the Thornevale Family?" But he was sure he didn't see any family name in his status and became puzzled.
Meanwhile, Jacob let out a smile and shook his head.
"Reece was an external recruit of the Thornevale Family three decades ago but was kicked out due to the lack of progress in his strength. Then, he joined the Red Sepoy Corps and came under my squad as a common foot soldier."
"External Recruit? So, the Thornevale Family actually accepts commoners into their family?" Raven furrowed.
"No way an ancient Noble Family would take some random nobodies of common background into their family, My Lord. Only those who enter the Internal Recruit have even the slightest chance to become a member."
While talking, the group had already left the Railway Station and made their way towards the Carriage House.
"Interesting. Jacob, can you tell me more about how a noble family operates? Who are all external recruits? What are the requirements for becoming an internal recruit? If possible, tell me more about all the twelve ancient families, too." Raven had gone through basic education but never learned anything about the noble families.
"I'll tell you in detail in a minute, My Lord." While speaking, Jacob hurriedly moved towards an elderly man standing near a carriage and said something.
Then, he soon rented a four-wheeled carriage and asked others to enter.
"Go to the Merchant Borough." He ordered the coachman and entered the carriage before sitting opposite Raven.
As the carriage moved towards the Merchant Borough, where most popular inns were located, Jacob closed the curtain, locked the wooden door tightly, and spoke.
"Most Noble Families take in young students from the commoner's background to strengthen their family, My Lord. First, they recruit all the students with good scores from the Knight Training Schools and let them become External Recruits of the Family. This External Recruiting period ranges from around 10 to 15 years. They will train the students to become an official knight and even conduct many exams during this period. Anyone who passes these exams will be taken in as an Internal Recruit and further supported by the family. If one becomes an Internal Recruit, they will have a bright future. If some extraordinary genius appears, they will directly bestow him the title of Knighthood and even tie him into a family."
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"Oh? They will allow him to become a true noble?" Raven blinked in surprise.
"No, My Lord. A Noble Family usually has lots of members and even relatives. For example, if a knight becomes a baron due to his achievements, he, his wife, sons, daughters, and even his parents and grandparents will become nobles. But when his daughters marry into different families, they will lose their noble title completely and become commoners. On the other hand, all his sons will retain the noble title. Even if the Baron dies and the eldest son becomes the next heir, the other sons can still retain the noble titles for up to multiple generations. These families all will become branch families of the main Noble Family. Eighty percent of the Knights will be taken from these branch families only. From my understanding, an ancient Family like Thornevale will have more than 100 branch families." Jacob gave him a lengthy explanation.
"So even a Genius will only be taken into one of these hundred branch families, huh?" A look of understanding appeared on Raven's face.
"Don't take these branch families lightly, My Lord. Even a poor branch family has wealth as high as your current assets." His words made everyone's mouths wide open.
Raven realized how poor he was even after stealing the wealth of the Holmes Family.
'I'm a frog in the well. And here I dreamed of standing against the Royal Family and rescuing my sister and aunt with schemes and wealth.'
[True wealth is not your assets but the knowledge in the memory library, lad. If you use them wisely, you can buy tens of these ancient families easily.] Zera said calmly, causing his lips to twitch.
"Tell me more about these twelve ancient families."
Jacob nodded his head and continued.
"Let me start with the two most powerful families, My Lord. They are Maddis Household and Gravestone Household. Both are Archdukes of the Empire and are second only to the Imperial Family regarding power and wealth. Maddis Family is famous for their swordsmanship and also owns the Western Bank. They also have the strongest Knight Order in the Empire, the 'Golden Regime.' On the other hand, Gravestone Household is the hidden dragon of the Empire. They are a secretive and highly strategic family known for their intelligence and manipulative tactics. They are also famous for Dark Magic and Illusion Magic."
"Next in line is the four families of Dukes. They are Warfield, Heart, Arcturus, and Raynor. Warfield Household is the protector of the Crimson Fortress and always prides itself on honor and loyalty. They are the best shields of the Empire. They mostly train knights and warriors but sometimes train wizards with Fire Affinity. Heart Family is an isolated household and rarely shows interest in politics. They are loyal and upright warriors. Unlike other knights, they practice a unique fist technique."
"Pugilists? Does that mean Leona also became an External Recruit of this Heart Family and later joined the army?" Raven made an obvious guess.
Jacob nodded his head and continued.
"Next is the Dukedom of Arcturus. They are famous for their spearman ship and produce the best cavalry, called 'Iron Cavalry' in the Empire. Most of the Cavalry soldiers came from this dukedom in the whole Empire. And the final one is the House of Raynor. It is a dark family that keeps themselves isolated from the rest of the nobles, like Greystones, and always researches forbidden magics. They also practice necromancy, which many commoners despise. But they are the most loyal to the Empire and are also one of the trump cards of the Empire."
"Necromancy?" Raven had read about them from one of the books in Memory Library once when he was searching for information about a potion recipe.
"Does the Empire allow a noble household to practice necromancy? It involves summoning undead souls from the nether world and is highly dangerous, though." He couldn't help but mutter.
"Oh? I don't know if it is dangerous or not, MY Lord. But Empire has allowed the Raynor Household to use only monsters and magical beast corpses to practice necromancy. And as far as I know, I heard that there are many necromancers in the Crows Misery Academy, too." Jacob said in a solemn tone.
[Different worlds have different customs, lad. As far as I have heard, this world doesn't have any divine, so most people consider necromancy as a section of Wizardry] Zera said in his mind.
Raven nodded his head and gestured to Jacob to continue.
"The next six families belong to Margrave's class. They aren't as powerful as Dukes and Archdukes but still hold high positions in the Empire. They are Harrowmont, Ravenshield, Thornevale, Sterlinghart, Blackwater, and Findlay. Harrowmont Household specialized in assassination and dark magic. The family prides itself on being the smartest household and is always responsible for conflicts in the Empire. They are a bunch of troublemakers. They once ruled a small kingdom but later got annexed into the Empire after the war of Stonelake. Although they are part of the Empire, they prioritize benefits over loyalty. The Ravenshield Family is also full of smarties, but they are a crazy bunch because of their love for the alchemy. They are the majority suppliers of potions to the army." Jacob took a moment to take a deep breath and then continued.
"I already told you about Thornevale, My Lord. As for Sterlinghart, they are masters of archery and ranged combats. They are also involved in research on rune artifacts and produce more than 20% of the entire Empire's total artifacts yearly. And the Blackwater family specializes in poison, stealth, assassination, and spying. They also excel in alchemy and are renowned for producing deadly poison potions. And finally, Findlay Household. This household originated after the arrival of the Wizards. A female Wizard fell in love with a slum boy and soon married him. However, when this matter was revealed to the Wizard Union, they stripped her position and forced her to leave the union. But this female wizard seems to be a late bloomer. After she gave birth to her first child, her progress in wizardry became ten times faster. Upon seeing such a talent, the Royal Family made a move and gave her a Baroness Title, along with a large land in the north. That's how the Legend of Ice Princess was born. Within 100 years, she went from Rank-2 wizard to Rank-5 Wizard. Then, after 200 years, she even became a Legendary Wizard." Jacob ended the lengthening speech with a deep breath.