The King sat upon the throne, looking down the great hall, the largest still standing in all of western Ezaes. There had been a grander one in the old Ciai empire but that had been destroyed when the empire fell and the imperial capital razed. There was a guard in shining armour stood by every pillar that adorned the room, creating a large walkway to the main entrance.

Aled had been informed of Braydon’s arrival so had made his way to the great hall from the gardens, his chosen place of rest. Now he just had to wait for Braydon to make his way through the palace grounds to the hall. The hall was much closer to the gardens than it was to the palace entrance, so he had been able to arrive first.

“Viscount Braydon Fiton of Cliforge, successor of Earl and Viscount Isaac Fiton has arrived!” The master of ceremonies announced as Braydon, flanked by Gerald, entered the hall. He walked until he was 40 paces from the King before stopping, Gerald two steps behind him. Every noble rank would warrant another 10 paces closer to the King, he had at least learnt this much. He just hoped that he did not forget any other courtly customs.

“Greetings, Your Majesty, it is my pleasure to meet you for the first time. In my capacity as Viscount of Cliforge, I affirm my realm’s loyalty to your throne.” Braydon exclaimed, as he made a light bow. He struggled not to jumble up his words, such formal speech had never suited him. He was just glad that he did not have many titles, there would definitely have been a slip up had he needed to continue. Gerald was not required to do the same as he was not serving the King but Braydon, who was doing so in the name of all his subjects and retinue. This had been changed by royal decree from the previous system by Aled, who did not want to see most of the nobility for longer than he had to. It was one of the few actions he had taken as king that had not been blocked or ignored by the nobles, a testament to their love for him.

“You may rise, Sir Fiton. Though I gather that you would prefer to be called by your given name and leave being called that to your brother?” The king asked, now done with the formal ceremony.

“Indeed it is the case, Your Majesty. If you would take it upon yourself to do so, I would be much obliged.” Braydon was glad this was the first thing that George had taken upon himself to spread amongst the nobility. It was one of the few things that they were on the same page about.

“Then it shall be done. If you do not mind, we may continue our discussions in the palace gardens, it would seem we have much to talk about. And your knight may follow.” This was a major display of trust, normally the king did not allow for armed retinue of the nobility to be anywhere inside the palace other than the great hall. He did not trust that they would keep their weapons stowed if they got the chance.

Braydon and Gerald moved to follow the king to a side exit to the great hall under the menacing stares of the palace guards. He was clear that if they did anything, even slightly, out of order they would soon find themselves on the end of a pike. And outside of Ciai, where death was a way of life, these were the best trained troops in western Ezaes. Though anyone from Casburland would be the first to contest that.

They were led down several large hallways, covered in ornate frescoes with tapestries of glorious battles or scenes of great plenty. All scenes Braydon was sure that the king found to be a mocking reminder of what his father had lost to the hands of the nobles that now haunt him.

“I had those kept up purposefully.” The King had not turned around, it was as though he could sense what Braydon was thinking.

“It is a reminder to me of what I must regain. I do not want to be the same kind of man or get the same results as my father.” It was a noble goal. And most definitely an ambitious one. The nobles held great power in Fiveria, they would fight tooth and nail to retain it.

“I too do not want to be like my father, namely in that he is dead. But also because he left a mess of a family behind, not that he cared for most of it.” Braydon’s response got a laugh out of the king.

“Yes, ending up dead is not a feat many wish to emulate.”

As the conversation quieted down, they reached the gardens. A neatly kept place with many refreshing scents, though not dominated by big and bold colours. Braydon had a feeling that Aled was not one for fancy decoration, and was more into simplicity.

“So how are things in Shuluk?” The king asked Braydon, he was the closest one to the action. And he had to deal with the consequences more readily.

“A more violent version of Fiveria, with no monarch. I suspect the Barakhil emperor has his hands in this.” Braydon’s response was in line with what Aled had expected, and that was good. The last thing he wanted to deal with was more uncertainty.

“And what of your lands? Are they badly affected?” This was of great concern for both of them. The king did not want a weak ally, and Braydon did not want his house burning down.

“Thankfully the lords of Shuluk have had the decency to keep the fighting on their own side of the border. Though I cannot say the same for the peasantry that have been forced from their homes as a result. Thankfully I have a mine that needed workers, and there were a lot of poor hands that needed work.”

“Good choice. Now that they are here, they might as well be useful.”

“And now that they are here, they are not going back. Not unless their old homes are a part of my land.” Both of them thought this to be fanciful and laughed it off. The only way that he could take land from Shuluk was if the emperor of Barakhil was asleep or had a significant foe distracting his attention. There was no way he would allow for anyone to take Shuluk territory if he could help it. The Grand Duchy was his prize after all.

“It is good that nothing untoward has happened. And I am sure that you have a lot of questions for me too.” Now that Aled was satisfied with the answers he had received, it would be good to let Braydon know about any of the more pressing concerns of the kingdom. He was quite possibly the most isolated noble of the kingdom.

“My most pressing question would have to be: What has Earl Blake been doing?” This was his chief concern. While it was relatively safe on the other side of the Brimstones, he did not want Nela to be isolated for the rest of her life. The King noted that Braydon’s most pressing concern about the entire kingdom was the girl he had under his protection.

“From what I know, Blake has been too busy dealing with the prodding of Duke Oakley’s allies. He has not been able to do a great lot else, and it is not like his son is going to be doing anything about it. Marquess Burgess has been dying to know how she is doing.”

“She has gotten along well with everyone. In fact she has taken up an irreplaceable role in my castle.” At Braydon’s comment, the King nearly choked. ‘Irreplaceable role?! She just ran away from one man, how could she jump into the arms of another so soon?’

“So are you two… Do you need me to correspond between myself and the Marquess?” The king was going to be more direct but then realised how unbecoming his question was going to be. Braydon’s face dropped when he realised how his words had been taken, he could almost hear the sniggers that Gerald was trying to keep behind him. ‘Oh no, Gerald will not keep his mouth shut about this.’ He was terrified of what he would have to deal with when this reached Nela’s ears.

“No, no, you misunderstand, Your Majesty. She has become irreplaceable as an advisor and negotiator. I would not think of taking advantage of Marquess Burgess or Lady Nela’s situation like that.” Once Braydon clarified what he meant, Aled sighed in relief. He did not want to see the two most powerful members of his faction clashing as soon as one of them joined.

“I apologise for my misunderstanding. Please, carry on with any more questions you have.”

“Of course. Now..."