“Hey, you two, there's something really important we have to talk about.”

It was actually kind of strange that the general attitude of Helena and Kardenon when I said that was essentially 'Oh, we are finally going to talk about that thing that has been obviously bothering you for a while now'. I wonder if I am that obvious. Maybe I am, I've always tried to be a straightforward person and not hide things, so I suppose that must have seeped into my general attitude. Anyways, I start by telling them about the situation.

Due to my uncle's not so subtle threats, we will have to pass by a small village called Ravensguard, where most of the land is under control of Lord Ravenscall, an associate of my aunt's brother. He apparently has a very big problem to deal with right now and my uncle believes that we might have the ability to help with that. Honestly, it's not even Ravenscall's name that makes me worried, never heard of him, but the fact that he is an associate of my aunt's brother.

“Huh, I thought your uncle was more of a neutral guy, but if he is trying to get us to do favors for Lord Newmark...” That was my aunt's original family name. “Then, things might be a bit worrying in terms of the family getting involved with politics in the future.”

Helena effortlessly voiced my worries. Hopefully any kind of political maneuver coming from my uncle would have died down by the time we returned, but the fact that he is directly involving me like this might mean that he won't let me stay out of it. Still, there is little choice I have unless I choose to cut all ties with my family, or try to become the family's head, both of which are something which I would really prefer not to do.

Sensing the atmosphere, Kardenon asked in a serious tone.

“Hmm, I am not very well-versed in Meridian politics, but knowing how heated things sometimes get in Tharaz Eron, I can understand you two's worries if you're not the kind of people to enjoy politics. So, what is up with this Lord Newmark?”

I start by explaining to him about the current very political situation in Meridia, most of it caused by the war with Teldarion more than a hundred years ago. While the most well-known peculiarity of Meridia is the presence of Orcs as nobility, that is only part of it. During the first few years of Teldarion's offensive, most of the nobility from the northern regions of Meridia were massacred in battle or executed after having been captured. Teldarion made a great show of how he was liberating the poor downtrodden and oppressed people of Meridia. While stories go that the commoners of those areas under his control were treated as little better than slaves, at least they weren't killed en masse, although many people attribute this lenience to a general of Teldarion who later betrayed him, rather than to Teldarion himself. Regardless, the fact is that very few of the traditional families from that region of Meridia survived the war and of those that did none survived with their influence intact.

As the nobles of the kingdom realized that Teldarion was not someone they could repel by themselves, attitudes changed and many fewer noble families from the central and south region were wiped out, though their power was severely diminished. The Meridian royal family was able to expand its powers considerably as a result of that war. Not only were the orcs nobles installed by the king fiercely loyal to him, and that loyalty does not seem to have waned through the generations, but also many elevated noble families owed favors to the king. There was also the fact that most allies of Meridia during that war dealt with the royal family, so many of these ties were dependent on the king personally.

As a result, in Meridia there are three kinds of nobility right now: Orc nobility, all of whom are fiercely loyal to the king. 'New' nobility, who ascended from commoners or through noble ranks as a result of the holes left by the war and not filled by orcs. 'Old' nobility, whose position did not change or got worse because of the war. Both the Magnar and Newmark family belong to that third category, more specifically of those families that did not lose influence.

In response to that increasing royal influence, many nobles of that third category and even some from the second category, started organizing a political opposition to the king. Lord Newmark is a considerably influential figure of that movement. My father was something of a neutral figure, dedicating himself much more to state-sponsored monster elimination than politics. As far as I know, despite having married the sister of Lord Newmark, my uncle continued to keep the Magnar family distant from politics of that sort. Though I suppose now that might have changed.

“While things haven't really left the political plane, it is kind of worrying that we might end up involved in some kind of power dispute with the king of Meridia. I am not completely familiar with or up to date in how these things are going, but honestly I would really rather not getting involved with it.”

Kardenon nodded, understanding.

“I get your point. I never liked the politics part, though my eldest brother loved it. Although I suppose that since I clearly pursued a more academic and innovative path, I didn't get dragged into my family's political conflicts very often.”

Not very often, huh. I wonder how crazy dwarven politics might be for him to say that as if he was really fortunate. Still, it is good that both of my companions seem to understand the situation and not oppose my decision to go to Ravensgaurd, even if I have my reservations about the ultimate result of it. Even Helena, though she didn't seem completely comfortable, was resigned to it.

“Well, that's the burden of being a noble. You have to fulfill your duty to your family. You would not be worthy of your birthright if you didn't. Though I kind of feel bad for Kardenon to be dragged into this...”

But he seemed to be completely okay with it.

“Oh, don't worry. As I have said, I am somewhat accustomed to being dragged into other people's political maneuvers. Besides, I chose to be with you two and I still believe that I owe a favor to you two, not only for your help, on the road to Probium, but also for believing in me and letting me go into the dungeon with you.”

That was quite reassuring. I felt like this problem might not end up being such a huge problem in the end.