Michael
The cart rattled over the dirt roads toward Greyhold. Michael sat next to the unconscious Samuel and gazed at the marching army.
They had reached Grent a few hours ago and were bound to arrive at Greyhold soon. As expected, the Rangda had made no attempt to attack them again, and apart from a few small scuffles, the prisoners were agreeable under the threat of augmented violence.
Samuel was going in and out of consciousness repeatedly over the last hours. Being carted over what could barely be called roads probably didn’t help his recovery either.
Michael looked up to Richard who was riding next to them and cocked his head a little.
“Hey Richard,” he said, and the nobleman turned his head toward him. “Do you think that nobility is required for a civilization’s functionality? Everyone seems to have them no matter the race or religion, so is a class that stands above others merely because of the family they were born in somehow required for a society to function?”
The plump man looked at him with confusion for a moment before replying. “Quite the strange moment for such a philosophical question, milord. Why do you ask now of all times when one would rather expect a discussion about the sensibilities of war or worth of slavery.”
Michael couldn’t really blame him; how could anyone understand his thoughts if they didn’t know what he knew? Like that, he kept the son of one of the most powerful nobles as a drugged prisoner without his father’s knowledge after exactly that father had ordered his son to murder his liege. It sounded confusing to Michael himself sometimes.
“I have just been thinking about the Rangda and how they do have somewhat similar structures to us and then I also thought about the dwarfs or wolfkin and they all have some kind of noble class. So, are they necessary if everyone seems to have them?”
Richard rode in silence for a while. Michael always liked talking to him, he actually thought about things and didn’t just say the first thing that came to mind.
“I think you have it the wrong way around. It is not that civilization exists because of the noble classes but rather that noble classes form in every civilization. There will always be people that are more important or powerful than others, through skill and intellect and there will also always be the wish to provide for their family. With those two constants you will always have some kind of elite that forms, be they nobles, trade families, or clan leaders.”
Michael smiled and mumbled, “What was first the civilization or the nobility, huh?”
He then spoke louder so his friend could hear him, “Do you think the nobility is a boon to the country?”
Richard seemed uncomfortable with the topic which he quickly also voiced. “I don’t know if this is a subject for such a public discussion, Michael.”
“Hmm, perhaps not. We wouldn’t want anyone to think that we are against traditions now, would we?”
In Michael’s opinion, it was pretty clear anyway. The whole concept of nobility was so unproductive that it bordered on idiotic. To have people rule by the reasoning that some ancestor might have been great enough to actually earn his position with no thought wasted on the actual qualifications of the person.
He was of course aware that he himself was also lifted into his position by his lineage, but he was also the first one to say that he should have never been allowed to rule at his age, experience, and emotional state even if it turned out alright. Just because one or two situations turned out fine wouldn’t validate the whole practice in his eyes.
Merits. Merits and skill are what should get people into positions of importance and power. Of course, that is easier to say than accomplish. There were power structures in place after all, but fortunately, at least a good part of that power structure had committed treason.
“It was an insane risk to take, Lord Plon,” he said to himself and continued scribbling notes on a stack of paper.
It was two more hours until Greyhold finally came into view and not only that but also a camp covered in the bright blue emblem of the Duchy of Praanen.
“It seems my father has already arrived,” Theden said with a satisfied grin at the orderly rows of tents.
He had every right to be satisfied, it was an impressive sight even if their army outnumbered the duke's army three to one when counting the prisoners.
- A while later in Greyhold -
“Michael, Duncan, I am so glad to see you both alive and well,” Duke Wallsten said as they jumped off their horses. Michael had changed to a horse from his cart when the army made camp at the edge of town.
“I am also fine, father,” Theden joked, clearly not very bothered.
Duke Wallsten smiled at his son fatherly and touched his shoulder before turning back to his two vassals. “I got the good news. You have achieved something worthy of recognition and I am very glad that at least my son could reach you in time even if I couldn’t.”
“Your son’s timely arrival and unflinching bravery did much to secure a clean victory, and we are very thankful for the assistance,” Michael replied.
He could see Theden's grin in his peripheral vision, but the man didn't mention that Michael had been knocked out by then and couldn’t know any of that from his own experience.
“Let us head inside, you must be exhausted. There you can tell me everything about your heroics,” the duke said.
“I will be with you in a moment,” Lord Grim excused himself to meet his wife who was currently fussing over Tara.
“Michael. We really need to talk,” Kiran stopped him with a concerned expression.
“Not now, Kiran,” he brushed him off again. Michael knew what this was about, and he really didn’t want to lead that discussion right now. There were simply more important issues.
He had dodged the subject for over two days now, being content with just not using his magic, even if he didn’t think that there were any problems. Similarly, Eydis had seemingly gotten cold feet about meeting the prisoners of her clan and so they procrastinated together.
“Your health is more important,” Kiran grumbled but Michael was already gone.
He quickly caught up to Lord Wallsten and Theden, with his uncle also joining them shortly.
“So, the messengers said that we do not need to fear further attacks?” Duke Wallsten asked while they walked toward the meeting chamber.
“I do not think so and Eydis, the Rangda woman in Michael’s service, agrees. The clans will be too preoccupied with throwing around the blame for this disaster and also infighting,” Lord Grim confirmed. “We might see an increase of smaller raids though, depending on how vengeful some parties feel.”
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Duke Wallsten nodded. “That is very good. My army will stay here for a short while until we have further confirmation. We also got notice on the road that Duke Greeich and Count Mandale are on their way here.”
“Truly? We didn't ask for assistance,” Michael said surprised.
“I assume they are coming out of camaraderie more than out of a sense of duty,” Lord Grim explained. “I am quite good friends with both. It is just a shame that they raised their armies to help, and we are already done. I would suggest we prepare a proper gift to show our gratitude.”
Michael nodded. “I agree. I can take some magical weapons out of our supply, that should make for a good gift.”
“A very generous gift,” Theden noted. “Though with what I hear magical weapons are no longer a great rarity with the knights of Rowan and Grim.”
It was true that Michael had gifted the knights of House Grim magical weapons as part of his effort to atone for his sins.
“They are very basic. Generally, just magical ores that have been forged with mana-infused flames, but they do allow an augmenter to leverage their whole strength. House Wallsten will of course also receive some as thanks”
Duke Wallsten waved him off after a short cough and said, “There is no need for gifts. We did what a liege ought to, if we want magical weapons we will buy them. Either way, it is not that dramatic, Duke Greeich is coming with his knights and mounted guards and Count Mandale loves getting out of into the countryside so he will ultimately just be disappointed to have missed the battle.”
“That is good. You will need to relay my thanks and my gift though since I don’t think I will still be here when they reach Greyhold,” Michael finally said when the door to the council chamber fell into its lock behind them, and they had their privacy.
“Hmm? Somewhere you need to be Michael?” Duke Wallsten inquired with a curious tone. “Duke Greeich at least should reach us in a couple of days already.”
Michael settled into a chair as the others did the same. He noticed that Duke Wallsten pulled a pained expression as he did, but it vanished so fast that Michael was sure that the man didn’t want it pointed out.
“Yes, milord. It has not been part of my reports because of the volatile nature of the information I am about to share with you. One of my knights, Sir Dittrich Plon tried to murder me in the forests when I got lost,” Michael said and let that statement sink in for a moment.
Duke Wallsten narrowed his eyes and asked, “Plon? As in Baron Redric Plon?”
Michael nodded affirmatively.
“Why would they do that?” Theden asked. He was obviously not up to date on the politics of Michael’s lands, which one couldn’t blame him for.
Duke Wallsten on the other hand seemed very much aware. “They tried to kill you to use the following chaos to supplant your family. They couldn’t know that you would make up with your uncle in that time and your brother is far away and by now certainly sworn into the clergy. The question is if this was a plan made solely by Lord Plon or the entire noble faction.”
Michael nodded again. “That is what we assume to be the reason behind this attack. We have the knight in custody and managed to keep this whole thing quiet with some lies and fake missions, but we can’t be certain that they did not get suspicious.”
“So, what do you plan to do about this?”
“I plan to arrest the whole faction and bring them to justice. I might not be able to prove the involvement of every lord in the scheme to kill me, but I more than sufficiently prove many other crimes,” Michael explained coldly.
Theden leaned back with a frown and asked, “You will have to be swift about that or it will trigger a civil war. The nobles not involved in this will be very pissed too if you start gathering up their neighbors.”
“Yes, this leans a little on them not having figured out what is happening, but due to no revolt having started yet I would assume that they do not know that their assassination has failed so spectacularly. The rest of the nobility will probably be concerned about this act of centralization. Still, under the current circumstances of our decisive victory and the weight of accusation, I do not believe that anyone will complain overly much, especially if I have the most troublesome nobles in custody already.”
“What evidence do you have?” Duke Wallsten asked.
“Dittrich is still alive, though he denies having been sent by anyone. He did admit it to me though, but I don't have a witness. I do have fabricated letters by Lord Plon and some others lying about the state of my rule which have been delivered to the man who tried to kill me in the capital. I do have a wealth of evidence proving corruption, incompetence, active actions against my plans, murder, theft, and many more.”
Lord Grim added, “I can affirm the attack on Lord Rowan, it was I who took down Dittrich.”
Silence fell in the room as Duke Wallsten rolled his cane between his fingers. His gaze was turned to the knob of it with the light being reflected from the metal.
Finally, after what felt like ten minutes, he grabbed his cane and turned his gaze back to Michael. “None of them can escape. We cannot afford a rebellion right now and we definitely cannot afford any of them to escape and go to our enemies with a sob story about tyranny.”
He fixed on Michael with his piercing gaze until the young lord nodded. Next was Theden.
“My son, I will send you and our knights with Lord Rowan. Break their resistance if needed, this will need to be over before the month is over. It cannot drag on.”
Theden nodded with grim determination, “Yes, Father.”
“Good,” Duke Wallsten said and leaned back. “Duncan and I will stay here to continue projecting strength against the Rangda if they get foolish notions. I expect to be kept informed as long as it doesn’t threaten the mission.”
“Of course, my Duke,” Michael bowed respectfully in his seat.
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Duncan
Duncan and Duke Wallsten sat alone. Michael and Theden had left to start preparations and plan for the strike against the noble houses.
“Do you think he has the stomach for what he must do, Arthur?” Duncan asked. He knew that Michael could beat his enemies, but he wasn’t so sure if his nature allowed him to be as cruel as he needed to be in this situation. His qualms about how to handle the barbarians didn’t help in this concern.
“Don’t you?” Arthur answered his question with a question of his own.
Duncan sighed and got up to get something to drink for both of them. “I am not so sure.”
“I know you haven’t been completely up to date with the happenings of the last few years, but Michael has proven quite driven and resilient in the face of obstacles.”
“I know that he is driven,” Duncan said. “I just don’t know if he is ...” He trailed off, not quite sure how to finish that sentence.
“You don’t know if he is driven enough to slaughter entire families guilty of treason just because that would be the best thing to do right now?” Arthur tried to guess his thoughts.
“Yes. He is still so very young. If I had to imagine Tara being in such a situation,” he shook his head. “Maybe I should go with him. Take the difficult choices from his hands.”
“And you think that that would be the wise decision?”
Duncan couldn’t help but sigh. “Of course, it wouldn’t. I couldn’t even argue that my brother would want me to protect his son. That hardass would say that decisions like this build character.”
“They are decisions that have to be made when one wants to rule over others,” Arthur noted and then finally got up from his chair to join Duncan who was still standing next to the bottles. “I think you underestimate Michael. He is not as soft as you might think he is. He is driven as I said but he is also very focused on making the best decisions for his people.
“Like he did with the Rangda. It is the best decision to return them if Michael’s information and predictions hold true. That is to say that I do not think he would slaughter them all if the gain was just marginal. In this situation though, I feel like he will unleash all that wrath and anger he has stored in his heart since his family died.”
Duncan looked at the duke, the man looked old, much older than he had last they met. Others might not notice when seeing the man every day but with the irregular times at which they met, it was quite obvious to the count.
“I felt some of that wrath before we managed to clear the air between us,” he said, finally passing a cup of wine to the old duke.
“And I am very glad that you managed to do so. I am not going to be here forever, and I wouldn’t be able to go in peace with one of my most powerful vassals wanting to murder another.”
Duncan smirked dryly.
Arthur waited for a moment and when it became clear that Duncan had nothing to say to that he spoke again, “You heard about the Order of Purity?”
“Yes, Theden told me about it. I heard that Michael isn’t getting along with the archpriest but for the anti-mages to refuse their support is quite a blow,” Duncan said.
“I think it is going to become worse,” Arthur revealed. “The more Michael leaves traditions behind and goes against church dogma the more they will see him as a threat. This is also why none of the traitors are allowed to escape, if they reach the church and spew some nonsense, they might call down the inquisition on Michael.”
“Would the king let that happen? I feel like he values Michael greatly.”
“Who knows? Power and the whispers of advisers can make the strongest forget their friends.” Arthur sighed and slowly shook his head. “We need to keep an eye on this and make sure to prevent Michael from agitating the church too much. We also should think about finding him new allies at court, namely an influential father-in-law.”
Duncan smirked at the suggestion to marry off his nephew but focused more on the real problem. “The good thing is that he will be too preoccupied with internal instability to go anywhere where he can annoy the clergy. I also suggest we spin this battle to give Michael to most credit, it should spread his name and give him some goodwill with the rest of the realm and maybe motivate more influential figures to consider him as someone worth marrying their daughters to.”
“I agree. He will probably need it if he doesn’t play the next weeks flawlessly,” Arthur said.