The barony of the northwest lands of Evramas is at the far ends of the kingdom of Tirisea. Being a low-priority target for the enemies of the kingdom, mainly due to its poor location and lack of any resources capable of improving the lives of even its inhabitants, made this barony quite the eyesore for most of the nobles.
With little to no wield every year, barely qualified to call themselves farmers, each year the impoverished folk of Evramas could barely feed themselves and have enough left to sell to be able to afford their other basic needs.
Cut off from the main roads, unless they were to pay a hefty fee to pass through the neighbouring baronies that almost surrounded them, made the state of the barony similar to that of a decaying wooden house exposed to the rain all day long. It was only a matter of time for it to crumble apart and relinquish its place in nobility, ending the lineage of Curze with it.
Being a relatively new barony, having barely 100 years under our existence, we still couldn't fulfill the basic requirements needed to name our lands.
If one wished to give a name to his barony or lands, he first needed, depending on his nobility title, certain wealth, and military power.
Wealth is to pay for the costs required for the appropriate naming ceremony conducted by royalty, usually a low-ranking prince trying to gather support and strengthen the family ties with said nobility. The military is the backbone of any kingdom that wishes to ensure its stability and of course, continuation.
Military power, mainly in the form of elemental soldiers, goes as high as requiring purified elites for those significantly high in nobility status when one is strong enough to elevate himself in ranking.
If you don't have the strength to defend your land, much less your own family, you are nothing more than a burden to the Kingdom and its prosperity.
To avoid tricky situations like these, rules were established. If a citizen of the kingdom, regardless of status, were to perform meritorious deeds that greatly benefited the Kingdom as a whole, then he had the opportunity to get rewarded with land and nobility titles of his own. The rewards and the lands varied, depending on the service the individual provided, but usually, a small piece of land and a considerable sum of gold was granted as a way to motivate the people and have them fight hard in the future troubles to come.
Guiscard Curze, the grandfather of Julius is a prime example of this.
Serving as a soldier in the imperial guard, participating in the counteroffensive against the neighbouring Kingdom of Falonde, successfully lead a siege towards the bordering city, Lofland.
With no reinforcements left to enable their persistent attacks and zero access to much-needed supplies, Theseus Falonde, King of Falonde, was forced into a truce. This ceasefire drove a wench to his grandiose dreams of turning his Kingdom into an Empire, temporarily ending the war.
The successful endeavour of Guiscard Curze earned him the nickname of Guiscard ''the crafty'' among the populace, quickly becoming well-liked and a symbol of heroism, something the people of Tirisea desperately needed. The war lasted over 12 years, greatly diminishing its military might and morale among the citizens.
His actions, combined with his sudden rise to fame, earned him the hereditary title of baron and the monetary reward of one thousand gold coins. Keep in mind, that a soldier's salary usually ranged between 4 to 8 pieces of silver per month, so a sudden amount of fortune was something a man such as himself could only dream of getting.
Alas, with fortune comes sorrow and with sorrow comes trouble.
His sudden rise to fame and the constant attention he was receiving from the various noble ladies of the court, some of them married, sparked the jealousy of quite a lot of people.
There is a saying that goes like this: never mess with another man's coin, another man's ego, and most importantly, another man's woman. Somehow, someway, Guiscard managed to do just that, earning for himself the ire of a lot of men, wanting nothing more than to tear him to a thousand pieces.
When you have tens of high-ranked nobles that want to tear you a new one because, in one way or another, you screwed them over, It isn't challenging to make your life a living hell.
So you became a noble baron and got granted some land?
We have just the spot for you!
That's how the northwest lands of Evramas, a god-forsaken place nobody even wants to mention, got their brand new owner!
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For a Baron to earn the right to name the lands he controls, he first needs at least three elemental-stage warriors or one Awakened, also known as rank two battle warriors, to prove he has some military strength under his belt.
Thanks to Nathan's hard work and my father's keen eye for talent, we have that area covered.
When your average joe earns the title of baron, getting himself in the inner workings of the Kingdom, he also receives some monetary rewards to help him pave the way for his future prosperity.
The Kingdom's treasury isn't never-ending. The gold you usually get along with your title sits around that of the thousand mark. Like everything in life, there is also a catch there. If you wish to name the lands under your rule, you have to pay around 800 gold coins, having your lands recorded in the royal maps along with your family name.
Stolen story; please report.
Usually, when you receive the money, you automatically sign up for a ceremony regarding the naming of the lands you acquired, ensuring the rulership of your family over them.
A royal member, usually a low-positioned prince, congratulates you on your new position and land, wishing you prosperity and wealth while simultaneously trying to strengthen the bond between royalty and nobility.
As you may have already guessed, Guiscard, even though gifted in warfare and women, he was also a gambling addict, something his plenty of enemies were delighted to exploit.
There is a saying, which goes like this: A fool and his money are soon parted. This couldn't be more accurate for my grandfather.
A mighty warrior, one that managed to reach the pinnacles of the awakened stage. One step before ascending to become one of the Purified. One that shook the Kingdom, died with nothing in his name apart from the land and title he earned when he was young.
Instead of signing up for the ceremony and ensuring the lands under our rule were under our family name, he decided to spend it with random women and gambles.
Believing that the land he got wasn't as bad as people used to say, all the expenses he made during his wild spending spree would be covered by the income his new fief provided him.
He was wrong.
The main problem his barony faced, was the routes leading from the capital to him. The lack of funds combined with his unwillingness to solve the situation as fast as he could, destroyed any hopes of reconstruction he could have in the future.
The surrounding neighbours extorting him for money so he could pass from their lands wasn't as bad as having the Dead Plains right behind him.
For thousands of kilometres, the Dead Plains worked as a natural barrier, a border, between the northwest of Tirisea and Falonde.
A huge piece of dead land that nobody can traverse due to its extreme conditions. No creature can survive there since there is no water, and in turn, no vegetation and combined with intense heat, dooms the land unusable.
Even if you could somehow travel these unhospitable lands, the only place you could voyage to, was the enemy Kingdom.
The lack of biodiversity and natural resources you could, in a way, exploit made this barony of his quite useless.
There wasn't enough for him to produce or turn into something useful and profitable for his fief, to be able to elevate his status and standing.
when he first came here, the first thing he did was to search the local library for any clues regarding the history of this place in a futile attempt to find a way of turning things around.
The only thing he found was sporadic references to his land once being a beacon of transport and goods, a place for rest and trade the goods they brought from some cities that were long ago, dismissed as fairy tales.
He turned into agriculture, wishing that at least his land was fertile enough to cultivate some exotic fruits or vegetables, yet even this endeavour soon ended in failure, as the land was too toxic for most seeds and plants.
Thankfully, there were parts in his barony where the cultivation of basic kinds of wheat and fruits were enough, to satisfy the bellies of his citizens and yield some profit back to him.
He died in his bed, lamenting the mistakes he did while young and frivolous, wishing he could turn time back and somehow fix the missteps that doomed his family.
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''Ciaphas, it is time for me to take my leave,'' said Julius while adjusting his clothes in a failed attempt to hide his nervousness.'' I have already ordered Nathan to help you with the affairs concerning our Barony. He has done a great job all these years, assisting me in ruling this land of ours. I am confident he will be of great value to you. All the necessary papers regarding our taxes, expenses, and even our rights as rulers here, are kept on my desk. I had Nathan organize them for you so you may get a clearer picture of our current circumstances. As far as the citizens that live here, I can only trust your judgment.''
Julius boarded the only luxurious carriage we got, or to be more precise, our finances could afford. It wasn't the large cliche carriage most nobles used to flaunt, but it was more than enough to at least travel with some dignity to the capital. Sporting a round shield with a crest depicting a wolf eating the moon on its back windows and sides and the Royal Crest of the Eagle on its front, it signalled to all that crossed its path that a noble was inside so you better show some concern and don't cause disruptions.
The crime of attacking a noble while being of no nobility status is death.
If you got caught harassing or straight up attacking a noble loyal to the Kingdom, your immediate execution along with that of your family was a given. It is a known secret that Royalty rarely cares about its people. As long as they pay their tax that is. If you attacked one of their own, that was a different story.
There are a lot of examples leading to whole village exterminations, just because some disgruntled families, decided that throwing rocks at passing nobles, was a good idea for venting their problems.
Bandits and swindlers knew best not to mess with nobility for these exact reasons. Nobody wanted the imperial guard breathing on their neck just for a quick coin.
The only instances where the imperial guard was not deployed was when there was some war or dispute between opposing members, usually low-ranking ones, for either land or grudge. This served as exterminating the weak while allowing the strong to get stronger so the Royalty usually looked the other way.
As to why our barony was never a target? Our land was useless.
The investment needed to turn this land into a somewhat livable one was at best enormous, coupled with the fact that you also were responsible for feeding over eight hundred mouths, it was only a nightmare for your treasury.
Watching the carriage slowly fade away, I tried to recollect myself and get my act together. I barely had time to think as to what exactly happened to me and the next thing I know, I am a baron.
''couldn't he at least wait a week before leaving?'' I whispered, attracting Nathan's watchful eye.
'' Your esteemed father is old, sir. He doesn't have the strength to persist with his duties anymore. Watching his father die honourless, tasked to rule a barren land, with no prospects of bettering himself or his lands, strained him deeply. He doesn't wish to burden you with the same thing, so now everything regarding the barony is up to you. in a sense, it is cathartic for him'' said Nathan evenly, not having a care in the world if his words were appropriate or not. Being as old as Nathan, allowed him to have some experience regarding the aches of man.
''Then Nathan, I guess it's you and me now. My father told me that, regarding the barony, you were the best man to help guide me. I have no idea ruling this place and to be honest, I haven't even visited our lands, apart from our manor, in a very, very long time. I will be counting on you to bring me up to speed and see what we can do. The last thing I want is to mess this up even more, right?'' I joked, trying to lighten up the mood and mostly my worries.
Not even a day has passed since my sudden death and I found myself in a different realm, a different body, and becoming a baron nonetheless. I still have no clue what is going on but I sure as hell know what I need to do now.
''Nathan, prepare my chambers. I need a day's worth of sleep.''I said heading towards the mansion.
''Gladly master Curze''.