The nobleman, Armond, Arnold, Dillon, and the girl, and one other man all mounted the bandstand while the rest of the group seated themselves at the head table. The armed men filed to either side of the leftmost table and remained standing at attention. On the stand, the nobleman smiled genially and took a step back, gesturing for Armond to take the podium. Armond cleared his throat and stepped forward, standing at the podium for a moment before speaking as he basked in the confused looks of the frontier men and women.
“Oh no.” Lily was startled as Uncle Vath’s voice came from right beside her. She hadn’t heard him approach. “We’ll never get out of here if he’s going to give a speech.” He hadn’t changed his mind about leaving. Lily was surprised to find herself slightly disappointed. This was the most interesting meetup she’d ever had.
Armond cleared his throat one more time, then shouted out over the small crowd, “Thank you all for coming! As you can probably tell, today is a special day! In addition to announcing our candidates for the Nort City trials, I and my family have some special news. But first, let me introduce our esteemed guests.”
He gestured broadly behind himself, “It is my pleasure and honor to welcome Baronet Alistair Blackburn, son and heir of Baron Landis Blackburn of Nort City, and his family to our humble compound today. Lord Blackburn will be residing with us for the time being until our caravan to Nort City sets out. He has graciously volunteered the services of his men to escort our dues and aspirants to the city, where I am excited to announce that he will be acting as one of the four judges of this year’s Artifact Trials!”
Uncle Vath’s hand on her shoulder clenched painfully, and both of their eyes were riveted on the baronet.
“Furthermore! It is my distinct honor to announce a coming union of our two families! My son, whom you all know, is to be wed to Lord Blackburn’s daughter, Annalise, upon reaching the age of majority. This is wonderful news for the entire region! With this wedding, we can formalize our relationship with Nort City and enjoy all of the support that proper vassalage brings! We, or at least the best among us, will have the opportunity to attain proper citizenship and status. We are frontier no longer!”
The last words rose to a shout and then he paused awkwardly while the rest of the assembly continued to stare at him in silence. The truth was, most people on the frontier were there specifically to stay outside of the vassal system. Nobles in other parts of the country held absolute power over their lands: able to judge crime and punishment and to distribute and withhold benefits to their residents at will.
There were benefits as well, of course. Just as taxes and labor flowed up the hierarchy, talismans and artifacts were supposed to flow back down. It had always been a bit of a stick in Nort City’s craw that the frontier benefited from association, taxes paid or not.
In theory, the local council could decide to remain unaffiliated, but in practice, even the lowest of the nobility could walk over their decisions at will. If they’d already committed to a betrothal, this was already all but written into law. Until now, the frontier men and women largely owed their liberty to the simple fact that no one of any power actually wanted this land. Vath wondered what had changed. Glancing briefly at the aged Arnold Esther, he realized he already knew.
In the context of the larger kingdoms and clans, the Esther family ranked as less than a grain of sand. Their names were recorded in no books. Their deeds, while grand for commoners, were worthless in the political arena. But Arnold Esther wielded a third stage armor artifact, known as the Esther Bulwark, and frankly wasn’t long for this world. Presumably, he would pass his artifact on to Dillon. This wasn’t a marriage, this was an acquisition.
Poor Armond Esther. He was probably blinded by a large dowry and actual noble attention. Give it two generations and the Esther Bulwark would become the Blackburn Bulwark, and it would only cost Alistair Blackburn a single daughter and some infrastructure improvements to a frontier zone. A bargain.
If the Blackburns were the honorable sort, this whole arrangement might even be beneficial to soon-to-be Blackburn residents. It could become a safer place, with education and paths for advancement for their children. Vath meanwhile was already considering where to move himself and his niece after the trials. There wasn’t much further out they could go.
Lily stopped paying attention to the speeches. Armond continued for a while, trying in vain to rouse the crowd, then the noble- Lord Blackburn, Lily mentally amended- gave a speech about prosperity coming to the region and a “unification of purpose” (he either ignored or didn’t care about the lack of response from the still-stunned crowd), and finally the remaining man on the platform who was some sort of record keeper (her uncle called them “bureaucrats”) made a big show of signing documents. By the end, whispers were passing back and forth among the crowd, and Armond retook the podium twice to demand silence.
Stolen novel; please report.
What does this all mean for me? Lily wondered. Not the marriage, and not even really the land claim. No, she was focused on her trial. This man would be a judge, one of four. His performance and his favor upon her efforts would determine her rank and rewards. Judges were supposed to be fair, but this man was already living in the Esther home! Of course he would favor Dillon in the trial, but would Dillon expend the extra effort to turn him against her just because he didn’t like her? Would a nobleman even care about something like that? Surely he was above caring about kids like Lily.
What would her Uncle say at a time like this? You’re more than prepared for this trial, we’ve seen to that. But also: It’s unfair, but due to your condition no one will do you any favors. You can only rely on yourself and me. She suddenly couldn’t wait to leave the gathering again. She needed to talk to him. She needed to train. She needed to know what to do.
The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur. The local council, composed of Armond, Jang Stand, and four other men, all farmers, briefly took the stage to announce their roster of candidates for the upcoming trial.
The region had five slots every year, but there were never enough children to fill them out with nine and ten-year-olds. Dillon was included, of course. This would be his second attempt at the trial. The previous year he had placed well but hadn’t quite made it to the finals. Joining him would be the twins, Buck and Jen Taylor, Lim, and of course Lily.
Only Lily’s announcement caused any stir. The unfamiliar guards and haughty Blackburns visibly ogled at her appearance when she stood to be acknowledged, before breaking off to chatter amongst themselves. The Blackburns’ daughter- Annalise, Lily reminded herself- turned to furiously whisper with Dillon. Lily, seated about as far from the head table as was possible, could not hear but could certainly guess the contents of their whispers.
Uncle Vath hurried through depositing their taxes with the well-dressed bureaucrat and then uncle and niece walked out of Estherstead the same way they arrived: alone together.
Lily and her uncle made the long trek back home in silence. Even after the long speeches, the sun was still high in the sky and the hum of evening insects would not fill the warm and humid air for hours to come. Uncle Vath set a hard pace.
Without the long legs of an adult or an artifact of her own to boost her, Lily struggled to keep up. Her stomach started protesting not long after they left the gate so Uncle Vath pulled out some smoked fish and two pieces of bread for them to eat as they walked. They’d have a real meal when they got home. Lily’s thoughts wandered as she ate.
It would be a great embarrassment to the whole region if a trial victor was rejected by an artifact in front of the crowd, in front of the nobility, and most especially in front of the judges who represented the Capital. Everyone knew the stories about how the Danling region had had its yearly allotment reduced. “Unimpressive candidates.” “Too much essence in the area, not worth building up.” Villages and compounds left without artifacts or at least a talisman or two to purify their food and water… it couldn’t have been long before the entire population looked worse than Lily.
A strong performance in the trials didn’t just guarantee personal protection in the form of an artifact or talisman, but recognition and protection for your family, for your village, and sometimes even greater opportunities. Lily had heard that top performers who impressed could be recruited on the spot into the strong clans and sects, or the national government, where they had riches, clean food and air, and artifacts that were awarded for service and hard work. As many as you could earn.
Lily always thought her uncle must have been a part of such an organization, with all of the artifacts he wore and those he hid at home, but he never spoke about it and wouldn’t answer any of her questions. Either way, he was clearly from Somewhere Else. There certainly weren’t any clans or nobility in this part of the frontier. Or at least there hadn’t been. This whole area was soon to be Blackburn territory.
“Two weeks.” Uncle Vath rumbled, drawing Lily’s attention away from her speculation, “Until the caravan leaves for the city. Pack supplies tonight to spend most of that in the forest. We can make good use of the time.”
“For training?” Lily asked with budding hope in her voice. If anyone could overcome stacked odds, it was her uncle.
“For training.”
Lily whooped and excitedly ran in a circle around her uncle, then shouted “I’ll get started!” as she charged ahead of him down the road, their walled compound barely visible in the distance. Vath smiled after her. They both needed some time away.
Just before she got out of sight, Lily turned and shouted back at her uncle, “I want to learn how to fight!” then turned back and resumed her headlong flight, already stripping out of her outer clothes.
A dark cloud passed over Vath’s face. “Yeah.”