After last night’s Noble War finally ended, the nobles had gathered in the Hall of Judgment to discuss the aftermath.

The Hall of Judgment was built with concentric raised circles, allowing the houses to take up slices of the room. The center was an open circle for when supplicants or people addressing the court of nobles needed to be viewed by all in attendance. There were tables arranged around the floor for the various families to present their Head of House.

Behind the house heads, was the next raised circle, reserved for the heirs and immediate family. Next came the attendant’s ring, where aides and guard captains were able to observe the proceedings. Finally the highest ring was lined with chairs for visiting nobles, and other elites of the city.

In the first circle, opposite the large entryway doors, sat Lord Cosgrave in her throne. She looked around the incredibly large room, and noted that it was filled to capacity with all the nobles interested in the subject of today’s meeting. ‘If I could only get them to care this much about matters of trade, Dorchester would thrive,’ She thought to herself with a rueful chuckle.

She forced her attention to return to the noble standing in the center of the room, displaying the results from their analysis of the Thought-hub.

The noble in question closed the holograms they were displaying and said to the room, “In conclusion, I can say that the Thought-hub is currently working at 100%, and the interruption of service is unlikely to be repeated with our proposed measures.”

The City Lord nodded, and said, “Thank you Lord York. Your quick diagnosis of the problem, and subsequent work to reinstate communications is a testament to your expertise and work ethic. You’ll be appointed as the Chief Logician, now that the position has been opened.” Firming her tone, she ordered, “Do better than your predecessor.”

With a bow, Lord York returned to his seat in the second ring. The audience started to perk-up, everyone thought that the next subject to be addressed by the court would be what they were all here for.

Sensing their interest, Lord Cosgrave addressed the hall loudly and clearly. “You are all correct. The distribution of spoils from the Noble War is the next matter on the docket. As we had the pleasure of Populator oversight, we have been meticulous in our point tallying. I’ll give the floor Champion Charity to dispense her judgment.” Lord Cosgrave said as she gestured to the Champions standing like statues off to the side.

Champion Charity stepped forward into the central ring. She raised her hand, and some holograms appeared displaying images of the notable events of the Noble War.

She addressed the crowd in a loud, clear voice. “Most of what you expect is probably accurate. House Cosgrave won a resounding victory. No combat points were awarded, but maneuver points were won in staggering amounts. Anticipating the enemy’s actions, and planning for them, made up the most of their points. In addition, as this war resulted in the destruction of a noble house, rules of acquisition by right of conquest apply. Therefore, most of what was House Dorchen’s is now House Cosgrave’s. Yet even with their splendid performance, they weren’t at the top of the leader board.”

The holograms detailing the point totals and assignments disappeared. In their place, a giant hologram appeared showing point totals for an individual and why they were awarded. Alongside the tally was a large image of Nero sporting a grin.

Champion Charity said into the stunned Hall of Judgment, “It looks like you’ll be needing to plan a small party Lord Cosgrave. Gate 7 army command will explain it to the young man in question.”

-----

“OK Nero, I would have liked to get this done earlier, but you left before we could get to it. I understand you were hungry, so I’ll let it slide,” the captain said while he rearranged the papers on his desk, getting the information regarding Nero ready.

“I just did what everyone does to me when a conversation is over, they just leave. Is that not right? Everyone’s done it to me multiple times,” Nero asked with some curiosity. He had been rather proud that he finally got to do it to someone. Now, he wondered if he missed something.

“Yes and No. First, the conversation has to actually BE over. Also, the person who is the highest in level or status is typically the one who decides when a conversation is finished. It’s not really a rule, it’s just common courtesy,” the captain replied angrily.

Nero rubbed his chin and thought about it. “I can see how that would work. But I reserve the right to ignore it when I feel like it. Now what did you want to talk with me about. Something about rewards from the Noble War right? After speaking with the good sergeant here, I understand that I participated as an ‘independent’ who joined the winning team,” Nero said with a smile.

The captain glanced over at Blackwood, then sighed. Looking at the papers on his desk, he said, “Yes, As the Populators were watching over the Cosgraves, they witnessed your exploits and confirmed your entrance into the Noble War. The damages done to the building are listed as battle damage and therefore paid out from the spoils before distribution. You are not responsible for them.” After he finished speaking, he took the page he was reading from and put it face down next to the stack.

Taking a moment, he read a bit from the page now on top. He then looked up a Nero, “Next, I will be addressing your standings. Since you don’t know what that means, I’ll try to put this in perspective for you.” His gray eyes hardened as locked eyes with Nero.

“In a city of over 2 million private citizens, you were the only civilian to declare as an independent. No one at the keep, the thought-hub control center, or anywhere else decided to get involved,” he said.

Nero just nodded, as this wasn’t surprising. The captain continued, “Granted the situation was unique, but there was very little reason for civilians to interfere at all. I’m trying to say that what you did was very dangerous. Granted it was heroic and it worked out, but it was still very stupid. Do you understand that?”

Nero kept his smile up, “Yup. Stupid. Got it. Now what did I win?”

The Captain’s eyes lost a little of their light as he picked up the paper and leaned back in his chair a little. “Well, this Noble War shouldn’t have happened, and through some strange circumstances, you ‘won’ a lot. You won the position of the highest rated independent participant since you were, in a way, the ONLY participant,” the captain said while reading off a page.

“Then, you also won some points for being the main reason that the Cosgrave heirs were freed from captivity,” he said, while flipping another page.

“Then, you won points for killing 5 men in what was considered single combat. Single combat being defined by melee or magic combat with the possibility of death on both sides without having support or aid. Bonus points were added for you being a civilian. Then more for the level disparity,” he said and Nero could hear the sergeant behind him starting to chuckle.

“Finally, your biggest point gain was the creation, deployment, and testing of a new combat spell. According to the report, it was some variant of a water condensation spell that you used as an environmental spell. On a side note, I’d like to see you demonstrate it if you don’t mind,” he said, then flipped the final page.

Sergeant Blackwood started laughing. “A water condensation spell?… I hadn’t heard that part.”

Ignoring his sergeant, Captain Angelton continued, “As a result of no one else having a significant combat encounter, and Dorchen abandoning the field before any battles really took place, that resulted in you being the highest rated combatant in a Noble War which involved the destruction of a Noble house. This entire situation is ridiculous.” By the end of his speech, he was gritting his teeth and forcing the words out. Blackwood couldn’t stop laughing and was starting to lose his breath.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Raising his voice to be heard over Blackwoods laughter, the captain said, “According to the rules of spoil distribution, the award for your contributions is a small portion of Dorchen’s estate and a minor noble title. You’ll join the court of Dorchester and take on some responsibilities that Dorchen had. As you have no skills to speak of, I have no idea what the city-lord will assign you. Your class schedule will have to be updated, and you’ll be moving into the central ring. Lord Cosgrave will probably assign you a proxy to represent you in court. You’ll probably also get a business manager for your new interests. The details will be discussed with you by the city-lord herself. She has requested the army bring you to the keep for dinner. I’d recommend getting some new clothes.” After he finished, he huffed and closed the file on the desk.

Blackwood was out of breath from laughing. While panting, he managed to get out, “That is all confirmed? Nero’s going to be a noble? He’s going to be going to their parties and dealing with those people in the central keep? I can’t believe it!”

Blackwood’s face was beet-red and he was having trouble breathing. He stood up and started stumbling toward the door. Over his shoulder he tried to say, “I’m sorry Captain… I can’t …. This is just too much…. He’s going to the keep!”

The Captain and Nero could both hear Blackwood laughing his ass off down the hallway. They sat in silence until the distant echos of his laughter finally dissipated.

Nero sat there, completely stupefied. He had expected money, maybe a medal or something, nothing like a title and responsibility. Raising his eyes to meet the captains, all he saw was him waiting for a response.

“So this isn’t an elaborate prank or something? Can people just get promoted to nobility like that?” Nero asked.

“How do you think noble houses are born? They can be earned through meritorious deeds on the battlefield. The details and requirements are all clearly accessible to the public. The rules are quite clear, and though human error sometimes occurs during tabulation of results, this Noble War was arbitrated by the Populators. This isn’t a prank. You will be a noble with all the responsibilities that that entails,” the captain said, trying to get Nero to realize how serious this was.

“But I just hid behind a desk and blew up some people. How does that count?!” Nero practically screamed.

“Listen, I’m not going to go through this again. Just go over your pings. You have less than two hours to get ready. I’ll meet you at the Center entryway where I dropped you off. Then we’ll be heading to the keep using the astra-platform at lower 7. General Branson has ordered me to act as your escort for tonight. After you leave here, please stop by a tailor on your way to the Center. Your basic outer ring robes aren’t going to go over well in the halls of nobility,” he said in a tired voice. It was obvious that he wasn’t looking forward to the assignment.

“Two hours?!? Why didn’t anyone tell me?” Nero asked, standing up in a panic.

The incredulous stare from the captain froze Nero in place. “Read. Your. Pings. And from now on, try to wake-up at a decent hour. Maybe in the future, you’ll stop getting into these situations. And I said LESS than two hours. Now go!” said the captain through clenched teeth.

Seeing that the captain was starting to lose it, and since Nero felt like venting his frustration with the situation, he decided to push a button or two.

“But I don’t know where the keep is?” Nero asked in a quiet voice, trying not to smile. He was pretty sure that the captain was on the edge of a meltdown.

“Nero, I swear to the gods that if you make me tell you to read your pings again, I’m going to find a way to hurt you in a way that is both legal… and repeatable. You get me?” He growled.

Nero realized that he might want to start backing away. “Copy that Cap. I’ll be sure to speak highly of you in the halls of power. In fact, I think you may be one of my best friends,” he said with a smile as he headed toward the door. Right before he closed the door, Nero took a mental screenshot of the captain shooting to his feet while gripping his desk with white knuckles, his face was the color of a ripe apple and there was a visible vein bulging on his forehead. Laughing quietly, Nero rushed off.

Eventually calming down, he made his way toward the front gates of the compound, Nero tried to figure out what to do with all this new information. ‘I’m going to be a noble. I’ll of course have to sell out immediately, and start singing the praises of class disparity. More tax breaks for the rich, and more restrictions for the poor,’ Nero thought to himself sarcastically.

As he quick-walked toward the Center, he had a great idea. Opening his link, he pinged Nick. ‘This is going to be great!’ he thought.

Immediately upon the connection opening, Nick said, “Nero, I’ve been worried sick. Why were you at the army compound? I’ve been waiting for you to contact me all day, I’m sure you have questions about what happened last night.”

Nero was touched by Nick’s concern, but he was not dissuaded from causing Nick to suffer the panic he had just gone through. Nero replied, “Yeah, I have a ton of questions about a lot of stuff. But first, do you know where I can get clothes that would fit in with the nobles, and they need to be in my size?”

Nero felt his mentor’s concern over the link. Nick asked in budding panic, “Noble robes? Do you have to go to a tribunal? What’s going on?”

Nero felt like it was time to dump the information into Nick’s head and wait for the explosion. “Well, it’s like this. Last night I won the Noble War, and because of that I will become a noble myself. I have to go to the keep in a little bit for some paperwork and snacks. Since I need some noble threads, I called you. You see, I don’t have any money, and our agreement includes you paying me for my hard work. Now I have to go, I have a lot of pings waiting for me to read. I’ll be at your office in 20 minutes, maybe an hour. Thanks Nick. Oh, and make sure that the clothes are the right colors… that seems to be a thing here,” said Nero. Then he cut the connection before Nick could reply.

After laughing for a bit, Nero continued walking while trying not to worry about what might happen, and just live in the moment. It took a while, but he eventually calmed down. After putting away his concerns, he started paying attention to the world around him again.

‘This is the same road that I walked down a week ago with the Captain. Although a lot has changed, not much has either. I’m still broke. I don’t think the paperwork for my job ever went through, so I’m still unemployed. I haven’t been to a single class. I still don’t really understand the leveling system here,’ he thought to himself. Chuckling, Nero spent a few minutes taking stock of his new life.

Looking around at the people going about their day with smiles on their faces, and a drive to grow in their hearts; he didn’t feel too bad. ‘For all that I haven’t actually done anything, I did do the one thing I really cared about,’ he thought, as he raised his palm while he walked. He corralled heat and air into a fireball over his palm. ‘I learned magic…. Everything else is just details,’ he told himself.

Nero paused his steps and frowned. Putting out the fireball, he looked around, trying to see what made him feel like he was missing something. ‘Why do I feel like I’m waiting for something… Oh!… I just had a self reflective moment after a big event while standing in the street where I started my journey. This would be a great time to level. It would really have tied it all together,’ he realized, and then opened his identity.

Name

Nero Walker

Level

6

Race

Human

Growth

36%

Tier

1

Condition

93%

Age

14

Center

89%

Body

1

Mind

1

Soul

1

Confluence

10

Stars

2

Pillars

0/0

‘Wow. Not even close. I’m going to have to work on my dramatic timing,’ Nero thought with a shrug.

He resumed his walk to the Center, all the while ignoring pings from Nick and surprisingly Mrs. Salvatore. Nero just wanted to walk in peace, and enjoy the moment. He’d deal with everything later. Problems are future Nero’s department anyway.