Age of Heroes (Age of Heroes Chronicles)

Chapter 79: Plans (2)

Arial had called for the assembly of the council, and was silently rehearsing what he would discuss as he dressed.

The trade route must be reopened, that was urgent. He would have to send letters to both the King and the northern lords in order to set that in motion.

There is also the matter of the new law and the legal system that needs to be established with the establishment of a new country

He carefully checked his reflection; he had found that, often, appearance alone was enough to make the enemy bow down.

Many lords submit after he defeated the Whitetree, and many common folk is happy when he became their lord.

That is because his family reputation that is known to be very generous which is the reputation of his father, while he was feared by his enemies.

Reputations are important.

He threw around him a handsome red velvet jacket with stunning damask brocade, which swept down to his knees and was created by a famous tailor in Vangua.

Jacques Arrendelle is one of the most famous tailor in the Continent as he makes clothes for royalties.

It has a luxurious and soft feel that makes it exceedingly comfortable to wear.

The jacket is approximately knee-length and features attractive damask brocade decoration on both of the front and back, these decorations modified for his House, red and black pattern detailing and feature additional gold trim.

The jackets full-length sleeves are fitted to the arm and end is damask brocade cuffs, the shoulders are slightly raise, creating a circular ridge that adds a level of depths to the jackets, and the interior of the frock-styled jacket is fully lined for comfort.

The tailor really is talented.

Well, considering this cost a fortune no wonder so much detail is put on this jacket.

Arial found himself slowly becoming like the nobles he had always despised, living their lives and playing their games.

His feelings towards the nobility hadn't changed, but perhaps he could learn to understand them a little bit more, to get inside their heads.

This is all they know.

They were born to a world full with deceit and no surprise they too become unable to believe anyone else. That was my impression of nobility

Arial knew that not all of them were corrupt.

Not all of them were greedy.

Some nobles are honorable.

Some are good. Some think for the people they ruled and they uphold their nobility as an ideal to strive towards.

They are superior, so they must emulate a noble attitude. Helping the poor is their noblesse oblige.

But that's the problem. Only some of them share that sentiment. Not many. And not all.

Maybe it has nothing to do with class, or upbringing.

Maybe it was simply a matter of choosing a path.

Become good? Become evil? Do good? Do evil?

Every day we are faced with a choice and every time we make a choice we became the embodiment of that choice.

We are what we decide to be, Arial thought, and sighed. He then wears another clothes.

It is a jacket with a dress and gold breeches.

The shirt is padded shirt in a lace up cotton gambeson style shirt that can be worn as a stand-alone garment or as an undershirt with leather jerkin.

He chose to wear it with the jacket

The shirt is traditional cotton fabric, and the sleeves are bit thicker, featuring a quilted fabric design. 

He then slipped a bracelet onto his wrist, exquisitely carved in Vern by Wen Tianxing, featuring an intricate dragon design.

He had bought it from the royalty of Vern and it had cost a fortune, but first impressions were important, he had thought.

It adds to the mystery and splendor of his House which makes the people reveres them; the nobles respect them and awe their enemies.

Once fully dressed in his impressive attire, Arial headed to the House Council room and entered through the enormous oak doors.

His council members were waiting for him, and stood abruptly.

The court officials are not present. Only his House Council can enter the Council

They were all talented men, some scouted by his mother and father, some with great influence and military power, some sons of nobles who had contributed to the Vermont's rise of power.

Arial took his seat at the head of the long oak table, and cleared his throat.

"Let the meeting commence," he said, looking around the table. Each man wore a dragon brooch, a symbol of being part of the council.

It is a badge of office.

"Yes, my lord," the council members replied together, their voices filled with enthusiasm.

First his Treasurer stood up and gives him the reports of his gold chest, expenses for the war, supply that he has and provision needed

Arial give the Treasurer permission to do anything that he sees fit to make his realm more prosperous but any drastic changes must go through him first.

He nodded and then he sits back down.

Derwin Watertree, Arial Lawkeeper stood and addressed Arial.

"My lord, we need to change the laws in our kingdom."

This statement is none other than implying that Arial should take it up this matter with the King.

Even though Adrian is technically King, Arial doubt he would refuse him. After all, he did win the King his battles. And the Vermont's is his strongest supporter.

He nodded but he is finished. Arial then ask

"Why?" asked Arial, and Derwin took a deep breath.

'Feudal laws and custom differed dramatically even within countries like ours or Vangua and Dostov from one major county or duchy to the next'

The other members of the House Council nodded.

Derwin continued his words.

'Though of course there are some uniformity in some kingdoms and counties because of the Empire governance a long time ago, it is undeniable that there are also different laws in other parts of the Kingdom.

"When the Empire was divided all those years ago, my lord, the practice of feudalism grew more different with every passing year'

Arial nodded. It is also the reason why in his reign there are some awkward cases since the laws of each region of a lord dominion is different and sometimes outright ridiculous.

Derwin continued amidst the slowly frowning faces of some lords in the House Council

'And that includes in our Kingdom. Laws are not the same. In our Duchy it's different, in others it's different. Our duchy is one of the places in this Kingdom where most free men came here, to live, to work, and to trade and we can boast that our duchy is the most prosperous and rich. Our laws are also lenient and I think we should unify the laws under the King, instead of each duchy deciding their own degree of punishment which will incite revolt and rebellion

Some of the people in the room frowned and then one of them said.

"The lords will not be happy about the King curbing their power," said Ser Massey, and several of the men around him nodded.

It is a valid concern

"True," said Derwin, "but it has to be done, for the royal authority. How can people believe in a King who can't control his lords? You know, sometimes I think it would be better if our lord was on the throne."

"Derwin, enough! That is treasonous," Ser Massey bellowed, and Derwin flinched. The other lord looks down at the ground, not intending to enter this argument.

"I apologize, my lord," he said quietly, and shrank back into his seat.

Arial pondered Derwin's advice.

In the kingdom there were no codes for formal laws, and each lord had the authority to judge those under his land.

Arial want to field massive armies of infantry, cavalry, and archers.

Complex logistical systems maintained by efficient government bureaucracies were needed to supply, train, and control such large forces.

The current rules is not efficient for such management

Bureaucracies. Maybe if he followed the Three Ancestors way it will work.

But Massey was right: diminishing the power of the lords would leave them feeling stung.

Bureaucracies will diminish the power of the nobles in the Kingdom.

That would incite rebellion and left a festering wound in the nobles that followed him and the King.

Even though the Vern Empire is kind of like a feudalist system but they have officer's usually second sons, sons that is not poised to inherit lands which become officers in the court, helping the administrative duties of the emperor.

It is kind of semi feudalist kingdom.

Arial decided he would need to think through his decision carefully

He then moved on to the next matter at hand: weapons. Specifically, Asteros Iron

They could not lose their trade with Asteros.

Asteros iron had remarkable qualities which made it much stronger and more durable than any other type of iron.

One of the reasons Arial's army was so hard to defeat was that their weapons and armor were made of Asteros iron, which was second only to Enochian steel.

But Enochian steel was extremely rare and extremely precious, and Asteros iron could definitely do the job.

He knows that sailing the Black Sea, even though it's dangerous, to trade with them, is a smart move.

Before in his timeline the Dukedom of Alan did not have this kind of strength, neither did they have an organized army.

Even though every troop are under their own respective Houses, the Vermont troops are a little different. It is trained and taught and armed to the teeth

Arial called on the Commander of the House.

"I want you to start producing crossbows en masse," he said, and the Commander nodded without question.

No objection, no nothing. At first when he took the leadership in the House when the war began, this Commander has always disrespected him, telling the people of the House that he is incapable of leading his House vassal.

So, Arial challenged the man into battle. He lost. Since he had lost a duel to Arial, he had followed him loyally. He was a simple man.

"Crossbows, my lord?" the other council members asked in surprise.

"Yes," Arial said, "we need to prepare." His word shows that he will not take any objection.

"But the east did not yet enter the war. If we-"

"That is my order!" Arial bellowed, and the room fell silent.

Once again they look at the ground, not daring to meet the eyes of their young lord.

There is a reason why Arial is determined to produce it en masse now.

The crossbows would be essential if a full-scale war were to happen. The crossbow is the preferred long-range weapon, due to several reasons.

They were easy to mass-produce. Also, training of crossbowmen was easy enough, and they were an effective long-range weapon. Arial turned to his treasurer as he set another order.

"I have an important job for you," he said. "I want you to create an irrigation system to control the Argan River. I am calling it Arlianes irrigation system. There are lots of peasant villages near the area which we can turn into our logistical base. And also the Canal in Goodlad, to irrigate the large areas of land in the empty plain, so that we can grow more crops."

"That's quite brilliant, my lord," the treasurer said, bowing.

"Can you do it?" asked Arial, raising his eyebrows expectantly.

"I will try my best," said his treasurer, and Arial glared at him. "I mean, yes, of course, surely I will do it."

'You better' The word was clam and does not hint of any anger. But to those in his Council there all could see the threat laced in his cold tone.

When Aries preside these meeting they never felt the way they felt when his son preside these meetings.

When Arial preside the meeting, his charisma oozes and he had this weird effect on people.

The reputation of him as the Arial the Dragon, the unbeatable military commander only increases his prestige and reputation.

To be in the same room with him could be unnerving for some people. The way he looks at you when he is displeased or the way he calmly spoke when he is angry could make one back sweat

Arial went on to order his council to start building new schools and a new university, a haven for books and teachings for knowledge-seekers across the kingdom.

Arial's dream had once flashed to a country, people swarming from all over to a place called Cordova, learning, gaining knowledge.

He wanted to create the same thing he saw in his dream. A center of knowledge here in their new Kingdom.

Knowledge is power, Arial thought.

He needed his people to be educated and united.

A centralized state and centralized army under one rule will make it easier to repel an invasion instead of relying on the oaths and promises of noble class.

But Arial also knows that he could not change all of this things drastically.

If he did that, then all the nobles would be very angry and their target will be his family.

In the East the nobles might agree to many of his reforms, because their way is different than the other nobles in the Kingdom

The reason for this difference is mostly because most of the nobles in the East under the Vermont rule, learn from the schools that his father created and even peasant child can learn in school, only they have to pay fifty silver for a year of learning.

But since our land is prosperous there is not that many peasants, many of them become trader and school helps their child find their talents.

Some become craftsman while other become artist, inventor, some become apprentice, master craftsman, and some become peddler who came from town to town supplying the backwater region with many items they could not find or have in their villages.

And Arrandy, the Dukedom of his family are the supplier, the trader, the sole economic power in the Kingdom.

Their gold funds Adrian expenditure.

Arial summoned the herald, a messenger who also arranged tournaments, announced challenges and marshaled combatants. Arial handed the man two envelopes.

"Send this to my parents in Seren," he said, indicating the first envelope. "You must not be tracked. And this one," Arial gestured to the second envelope, "is to be delivered to Lord Alderam."

"Yes, my lord," said the herald, and left with the letters.

"Does anybody have anything else to add?" Arial asked, turning back to the council. The ecclesial stood quickly.

"The wedding, my lord. When will the wedding be held?" he asked, and Arial could tell he had been rehearsing his words silently for some time. Arial look at them and smirk

The bishop and priest shrank further into their seats.

"My wedding?" asked Arial. "What does it matter?"

"My lord," the ecclesial muttered, "we know you are not entirely conventional, but the wedding must follow protocol, especially for the reputation of your house."

Churchmen, thought Arial with disdain.

He wasn't fond of them, but it was necessary to have them around, since no good ever came from defying the church.

The Grand Papnoticon might even have been more powerful than kings.

"Fine!" said Arial, "I'll follow protocol. Are we done?" The council members looked at each other and nodded. "Derwin, send me your proposal later. For now, I need to rest."

Arial left the House Council and returned to his room, pondering his next steps.

He considered going into the city later that day, to watch his people and unwind.

Rest never came easily for Arial, and when his family returned he would be very busy, he needed to take a break and relax his mind.

Walking back out of his room, he headed to the stables where he mounted Firebringer and rode out of the castle grounds, and into the city.

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A little bit long for a chapter. Anyway, if you like the story please leave some commenst and reviews.