IV

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Arc IV Chapter 17

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13th Ignis Solar 753 AAC

Honour. Duty. Loyalty. To most of the common populace, to the indentured peasant bound to their land, to free yeomen, only obliged to their liege, to the craftsmen and artisans in the cities, to the richest burghers and merchants, such terms might carry little meaning. To them, they were nothing but empty, hollow words, often accompanied by a bitter aftertaste, but it was these values and the inertia of tradition upon which for centuries the ancient feudal order of Eudia rested, an order unquestioned by the nobility, the church, and commoners alike.

A venerable order, destined by fate, in the eyes of aristocracy that saw the fittest, them, chosen to rule over the masses. A sacred and holy order in the opinion of the clergy, divine and blessed by the arts of magic and the spirits. An order legitimised in the minds of the commoners in equal parts by continuous stability and prosperity on one side, and by martial prowess and undisputed military might on the other side, rendering any resistance futile.

Yet it was the virtues of honour, duty, loyalty that formed the basis of the sacred pact binding liege and vassal, a pact otherwise only carried by the solemnity of an oath and the mere weight of one's words. Bound by their oath and their sense of honour, a vassal served.

A knight served their lord, a lord served their duke, a duke served their king. From low to high, they all served. In exchange for fiefs and wealth, for privileges and rights, they swore to serve their liege in good and bad times, in war and peace. It was this stable bond that the feudal order, the feudal life, the feudal world was founded upon.

A world of duty, honour, and loyalty, dominated by the nobility of the sword, elevated to their position certainly not by virtue of their superior intellect or their heightened sense of chivalry, but rather by the persuasiveness of their sword and the strength of their magic. A world that arose from the obscurity and the chaos of the past millennium when the Weltenbrand brought about an age of strife and darkness. Wars and invasions, famines and plagues, economic decline and rampant depopulation, moved the known world to the brink of collapse.

Eudia endured dark times when the cities fell and the continent burned. In these tumultuous times, warlords and chieftains, generals and commanders, powerful mages and their retinues, blessed with the strength of their bloodlines, used the opportunity of the moment to assert their rule over desolate lands and decrepit realms through the legitimacy of their sword and magic. The vultures fought over the last remnants of past glory in a fractured world, little by little establishing their own little kingdoms.

Yet where there is darkness, there is also light. Even the darkest night is destined to end. From darkness, emerged once again the light of civilisation, reawakened and reborn. Trees were felled, forests chopped down, land turned arable, crops planted, villages founded. Ancient cities were repopulated, as trade and urban life resumed. The first kingdoms were created by brave heroes and saints whose deeds had fallen long since into the realm of myths and legends.

The petty warlords of once had turned into landed lords, counts, dukes, kings. They rewarded their most trusted companions and knights with titles and land. The kingdoms flourished, and the feudal order spread across a revitalised Eudia, but the flow of history never ceased. The world changed, slowly eroding the old feudal order as the meaning of honour, duty, and loyalty waned, turning them into the hollow phrases of current times.

The course of history exposed the frail nature of human loyalty, of oaths and personal bonds. Betrayal and treachery, plots, and intrigues, wars and ambition, proved the dubious fealty of vassals. At the same time, the rise of the cities and burghers, of guilds and merchants, provided the kings and nobles with unprecedented wealth, with unprecedented manpower, with unprecedented untapped potential.

Kings and the high nobility sought to strengthen their authority and limit the power in the hands of their landed, relying instead increasingly on a burgeoning centralised administration, on a strict hierarchy of magistrates, advocates, ministerials, stewards and officials. Their efforts bore fruit. Men of common and minor birth were heaved to offices of power and responsibility to administer and govern vast demesnes in their liege's name, to command and organise troops. They were granted a privileged life in exchange for services. To them honour, duty, loyalty still meant something.

Erich clenched his fists, standing in the guild yard among fellow aspiring adventurers, young boys and girls. One girl even carried her doll with her, hugging it tightly in her arms. Her drowsy eyes betrayed her disinterest and open indifference. It was dislike on first sight. It was the first day of their adventurer training and the little airhead wasn't listening to their instructors, not paying any attention at all. It was probably her cute face that got her through the selection process. Nothing more.

By contrast, he came prepared. He was always prepared. After all, high expectations rested upon him. It was he who would restore his family's lost honour. The Schwerdt would rise again from the ashes of ignominy and infamy, from disgrace and shame.

He would reclaim the status that is rightfully theirs. His great great grandfather, an adventurer of considerable fame and renown, was raised to the rank of ministerial and later even baron by the House von Schwarz in recognition of his exploits on the battlefield.

His family rose to prominence through their martial ability and the latent potential of their blood. Their bloodline displayed signs of magic. Yet their downfall came as sudden as their rise. Their stellar rise attracted feelings of envy and jealousy among the old nobility. Their rivals resented their rise, regarding them as nothing but mere upstarts, opportunistic parvenus.

The day came, and they fell victim to the intrigues and machinations of the golden lion. Accused of treason and confronted with forged evidence, his family were stripped of their titles, their wealth, their possessions. Their lives were only spared in consideration of their past services.

The former Duke showed them mercy, contrary to conventional wisdom. Forty years had now passed. Two lifetimes had gone by, but their time had finally come to return. It was now upon him to lead his family back to glory. He would make his father see the grand destiny that he was born for. His path was clear. He would walk the path of his great great grandfather and become an adventurer of note, an adventurer that the nobility wouldn't be able to ignore.

Mustering his courage, raising his chest, he was prepared to meet the future, ambition driving his every step. No matter the price. No matter the cost. Nothing would stop him.

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