The Kingdom of Gaigaks, named after its founding ruler, started as a trade hub in the center of a vast plain between two warring nations during a temporary armistice. Originally known as Hub, it was a small stone fort built with the help of soil and stone shapers and housed only a barracks for its mercenary guards, two taverns, and a stable for beasts of burden. As the years passed and the peace stretched, additions were made and the fort expanded with more walls and more permanent businesses. One extremely wealthy merchant from the Arnesian Confederation, a commoner with the name Gaigaks, hired every earth based shaper he could afford and constructed a circular wall one hundred and ten kilometers in circumference over the course of a decade. Though it started a mere five meters tall, over the generations it has been raised to nearly triple that height.

With the over one thousand square kilometers of protected flat plains, Gaigaks and his crew of earth shapers constructed farming communities and turned over fields for cultivation, bringing in families to work from the heavily taxed and war weary citizens of both the Arnesian Confederation and the Kay Empire. To bring in funds as well as talented support, and to further weaken his soon to be rival nations, Gaigaks did what merchants and politicians do best. He sold what never belonged to him in the first place.

Selling made up titles and land to whomever proved powerful enough to protect it themselves, the newly crowned King first bought the loyalty and services of every plant aptitude specialist that would talk to him. Then he sent emissaries to his fellow leaders and declared himself ruler of the Gaigaks Kingdom. He then publicly invited any talented individuals that wished to live peacefully to where the walls were tall and the station one could rise to was even taller. In response to his proclamation, the rulers of Kay and the Arnesian Confederation once again raised the banners of war. Facing yet another war tax, their citizens abandoned their countries by the drove, filling caravans with whatever valuables and food they could carry in the hopes they could reestablish themselves with what little their previous rulers hadn’t managed to take from them.

With farms left to rot and soldiers abandoning their posts to live with their fleeing families, the Confederation and the Empire struggled with widespread famine. Normally, in response to a famine caused by droughts or pests, casters with plant aptitudes are paid a premium to rapidly grow fields so that the farmers can harvest constantly until the famine is dealt with… Unfortunately, even if the Merchant King Gaigaks hadn’t already bought most of the plant shapers, there weren’t enough farmers left to harvest everything anyway.

Many nobles were forced to hire completely new staff from the unskilled and impoverished, or worse, work the fields themselves. Resentment from this situation that the noble houses deemed a slight on their dignity still somehow exists today, despite the fact that every person involved even indirectly has been dead for ten generations. As such, there is still significant political turmoil between the Kingdom of Gaigaks and the two opposing countries.

The Arnesian Confederation went through a thirty-year war that resulted in an autocratic government to form. They are now known as the Unified Arnesia, or just Arnesia for short. Their current ruler is King Hispus, whom descended from a minor coastal royalty dating back dozens of generations. He has threatened Gaigaks Kingdom with war multiple times since his rise to power, but those threats have never really amounted to anything beyond a few skirmishes along the southern border.

The Kay Empire, on the other hand, fell to revolution caused by the famine and went through nearly a hundred-year war between ten different states all vying for authority. This warring-states period ultimately culminated in victory for the Elder Queen Lanasa, a woman with a unique aptitude she has once referred to as Timelessness. She still rules over the Queendom of Spiral to this day. She has never shown interest in warfare or expanding her territories, and as such the lands north of Gaigaks Kingdom have been safe from border conflicts ever since her coronation.

* * * *

“Young Master. If you look from your window, you can see Kettenhemd, the great wall that surrounds and protects Pecunia.” Marigold informed a sleeping Syron. He didn’t wake, so she repeated herself again and again to the frustration of the Knights. One of them finally just threw a piece of bread and hit Syron in the face and he woke up startled.

“Ah, sorry about that Young Master. We hit a bump, maybe, and I seemed to have thrown a piece of bread at you.” The Knight said with enough plausible sincerity that a sleepy Syron didn’t question it. Instead, he just waved her off with a smile and handed her the bread back before looking out the window.

“Ah! Marigold, I can see the wall. Had you not noticed it yet?” He announced with a laugh. The Knights smiled at each other and Marigold responded with a prim “Yes, Young Master. I was just in the process of waking you up.” He didn’t respond, but instead just pulled the red gem from his pocket and held it out to Marigold.

“If you don’t mind, Mari.” She didn’t, and the connection went through without an issue.

“Hi honey! Are you still safe?” Patricia’s excited voice echoed through the confines of the carriage.

“Hello Mother. Yes, we’re still safe. There has been no danger that I’m aware of, and the road has been so smooth I’m starting to wonder if maybe bread was ‘intentionally’ thrown at me.” He emphasized the word ‘intentional’ and gave the Knight in question an appraising look. She gave away nothing, and Syron just laughed.

“It’s been a rather boring trip, to be honest. I’m glad that we’re nearly there. I hope it doesn’t take too long to arrive at our lodgings… a rather important tidbit I only just thought of… where are we staying? Ugh! I completely forgot about that. Am I staying in a dorm at the Academy? Do we have an estate in the capital that I’ll be staying at? Perhaps a tavern frequented by muscle brained adventurers that I’ll be forced to show my power to when they move to make trouble for me.” Syron started out genuinely concerned about where he’d be staying, but halfway through he realized how ridiculous that was and moved to joking. Patricia didn’t catch the shift in tone, however.

“No no, Sweetie, you will be staying at the Forrester Estate. With your preeminent name and significant holdings, you certainly would not have trouble from, ahem, muscle brained adventurers? What cause would they have to bother you in the first place? If they aim to steal from you, your assigned Knights will deal with them.” She genuinely sounded curious. How could her shut-in son possibly have problems with adventurers two weeks travel away?

“Oh, the clichés are possible, Mother. Perhaps they’ll feel like I’m ‘overstepping’ or ‘belittling their struggles’ by entering an adventurer dominated establishment as a weak looking child. Perhaps they’ll think I’m using my money and influence to force my two beautiful lady knights and my stoic but sexy personal maid into compromising situations, and will be inspired by jealousy to assault me in an eye catching, but thoroughly ineffective manner. Maybe they are just worried I’m going to be killed by monsters on my first quest, and are actually just trying to protect me in their own, misguided ways. Muscle Brains can have hearts of gold too, you know.”

The Knights couldn’t stop themselves from laughing out, knowing how ridiculous their Young Master tended to be. Marigold remained impassive, though if you looked closely her ears were slightly reddened.

“There is a lot to unpack there, my sweet boy-child… but let us start with the basics. Keep your hands off your servants! I am too young to have illegitimate grandbabies. Or legitimate grandbabies. Furthermore, given its isolation in the plains and of course Kettenhemd, Pecunia does not have all that many adventurers to begin with. Monsters that appear rarely in the plains are typically taken care of by a Knight’s division specialized in monster slaying or our very own Wardens, and only qualified adventurers are allowed within any of the state sanctioned labyrinths. Those adventurers tend to be wealthy enough to own their own homes within the city proper so I am afraid your vague fantasies of being accosted in a tavern you should not be present within to begin with are rather slim. If anyone did dare to approach you with ill intent, your Knights know what to do. If you ever have trouble with local authorities, your Knights know what to do. If you ever have any problems they can not help you deal with, just hand Marigold your communicator gem and have her contact me. I will deal with it personally.”

For the faintest of moments, Syron felt her powerful aura creep through the connection and he felt a shiver through his body. Before he could be certain he felt it, however, the feeling was gone and he considered it might just be his imagination. After all, these gems only transfer sounds, right?

“Oh, and Syron?” Her tone sounded a little darker than before, but still pleasant.

“Ah, yes Mother? Make it quick… I’m starting to run out of power.” He responded, feeling his Magic Soul starting to slow with strain within his channels.

“You will likely be invited to parties. Go if you want to. Refuse if you want to. If you get there and someone makes trouble for you, feel free to ruin their evening. No one is to look down on you, and it is important that people remember that. Your Knights will not be able to step in unless you are actually in physical danger, nor would you want them to, but you yourself can do whatever you want with the rabble. It does not matter what family or House they come from. If they think to look down on you, remind them who is actually on top. You are my son and heir to this House…”

The connection cut and Syron slumped into his seat and held his head.

“Ahhh… it’s like I ate a bunch of ice cream too fast, got a separate stomachache, then someone completely unrelated kicked me in the jewels. Is it by word, or something? I feel l didn’t say all that much!” Syron moaned as he rocked back whilst still holding his head.

“You did speak quite a bit, Young Master.” Marigold offered helpfully. The Knights just giggled to each other.

“Ah… Mari… did you know the medical term for brain freeze is sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia? I think of that stupid tidbit every time my head hurts this way.”

“Young Master, I am impressed by your intellect. However, I fail to see the purpose in knowing such information. Are you intending to study doctoring? If so, I feel that the Lady would disapprove. Only those with healing aptitudes tend to make effective doctors, regardless of their magics efficacy.” Marigold sounded slightly sarcastic, but Syron didn’t comment on it. Last time he pointed out something like “Mari! Your inner thoughts are leaking!” she became despondent and didn’t speak to him for a week like she was proving her skill or something.

The group sat in amiable silence after that for the remainder of their journey to the wall. They were very, very briefly stopped by a guard before his companions pointed out the coat of arms on the side of the carriage and they were allowed to enter without paying any taxes. It took three hours to travel through the city roads to the Forrester Estate. The mansion was nothing like Rowan Keep’s constant insistence on decorating everything with monsters, but there were still dark green and black accents at every possible location the colors could still be tastefully applied. In celebration for successfully arriving, Syron delightfully cheered and danced an impromptu waltz with a Knight that found herself suddenly appearing to be wearing a ballgown. An orchestra played in the background while the waiting mansion’s staff looked around in confusion. The remaining Knight just shook her head with a smile and went to explain the new Master of the house using words that came across as far ruder than she endearingly meant them to be.