The Rise of a Noble

In an opulent throne room, a ceremony was taking place. A stout grey-haired man in his forties said with gravitas.

"Squire Galahad von Highkeep.Through your valorous efforts in the extermination of the red hood bandit group and the show of unusual bravery at the face of danger. Thanks to putting your life in peril you managed to save Sir Mathews Hills life. For that, you shall be given the chance to take the Knight's oath. Do you accept?"

A black-haired youth barely eighteen knelt his chain mail shining and uttered grievously.

"I squire Galahad von Highkeep. Vow to protect the meek and strike the wicked.

I squire Galahad von Highkeep. Vow to enforce the Law of the King and the Law Of Gods.

I squireGalahad von Highkeep. Vow to safeguard the realm and my liege.

I squire Galahad von Highkeep. Vow to defend my subjects and my fief.

I squire Galahad von Highkeep. Vow to uphold the knight's honor and all that it entails.

So that is why I squire Galahad von Highkeep ask his Highness Baron Monver von Gragon to grand me knighthood so I may fulfill my oath."

Baron Monver von Gragon then unsheathed his bastard sword and lightly tapped the youth with it first over his right shoulder and then the left one. He then said solemnly.

"I Baron Monvar von Gragon with the power vested to me by the supreme ruler the king and the divine gods officially declare you a knight Sir Galahad you may now rise. You have been officially knighted. Filling the prerequisites for you to inherit the title of Knight protector of the eastern fringe. May the gods bless you and lead you safely back to your fief coming tomorrow at the first light. But first, we shall have a banquetto celebrate the joyous occasion"

The banquet was short and unremarkable The Baron his family the two knights and the important figures of the barony gathered and ate. The Baron gifted Galahad a banner and a squire. The banner was beautifully sown with a black crow in a red background. While the squire was a strong and tall lad no older than thirteen, son of the current captain of the guard. The young lad was called Jack Capson. As the night grew long, everyone steadily retired to the rooms, and the night gave way today. At the first crack of dawn two riders were seen slowly journeying towards Highkeep.

At about an hour away from the town, the older youth said

"Hey, Jack. How do you feel leaving home for the first time and for such a long time? To be honest, I haven't been home for more than a decade and I don't remember much from my early childhood in the fief.

Jack then simply said

"Excited and afraid Sir Galahad"

Galahad looked deep in thought

"I am still shocked that I was the one to inherit the fief. After all, I do have an alive older brother. Which I have heard many praises about. As such it has been ten years since father died and anyone from our family managed the fief. Are there any peasants still watching over the land or would it be an empty village?

Jack then said.

"Sir if I may I say most people tend to stay in their villages for their entire life if nothing life-changing happens. As for your brother, I am sure you will one day meet him. Furthermore, I asked my father on what happens when a fief remains without a ruler. He told me that the fief falls under the control of a regent and most of the time they do a decent job."

As the knight and squire continued there idle talk time passed, and the farmlands were replaced with managed woods. Then, the managed woods gave way to Galahad's own farmlands. As time slowly passed early midday set in a small wooden Keep appeared on the horizon. It was placed on the top of a small hill with a wooden palisade wall protecting the village resting at its foot. As we reached the gatehouse. We were greeted by a priest, ten men at arms and a tall hardy man wearing chain mail and breastplate riding a black horse as well as a slew of onlookers looking at their new lord for their first time.

The man rode up to Galahad and Jack and gave a small nod.

"Greetings Sir Galahad. I am Sir Mathew the Tall and I officially return the fiefdom under your jurisdiction. I shall leave now for my count requires my services. But before I do, I would like to inform you that Nikolas von Highkeep your older brother will arrive at this week with his entourage. We learned that through a crow letter about two turns of the hourglass ago. Goodbye Sir Galahad nice meeting you and may you have a prosperous reign."

After that, a middle-aged priest introduced himself calmly.

"I am Markos the priest of the temple of Lados. I am here to bless your child and pray for your reign to be peaceful and prosperous."

Finally, the leader of the men at arms walked forward a short greying man with a stout build. An old veteran with a worn but well-kept kettle helmet and chain mail the only man at arms with any metal armor pieces. The man then did a quick bow and then spoke steadily but with all the hallmarks of a commoner.

"I am Captain Hank of the Men at Arms at your service me lord"

Looking at the decent state of his fief and the news of his brother's arrival. Sir Galahad ordained that a feast shall take place in the keep. Soon him the priest the men at arms and his squire were eating and drinking joyously. But good things don't last forever and on the fifth day of banqueting.

In the first crack of dawn, a small entourage reached the small hold with both the knight, the priest and the men at arms in a comatose state from the constant banqueting none was there to greet Nikolas.

At the late afternoon, Nikolas woke up his useless excuse for a brother by kicking him.

As Galahad woke up the first thing he shew was a blonde haired thin and frail man of average height with deep black circles under his eyes wearing a pair of gold-rimmed spectacles and a long red silk robe with the only detail a small badge with a crow reading a book sown on it. The man was holding a thick leather-bound book With the title the Geography and History of the County of Lajon. The man then said with a calm but irritated voice.

"You useless excuse of a brother. Which your only redeeming feature is your strength. It took you eighteen whole years to become a knight and inherit our family holdings and the first thing you did when you got this massive responsibility from our ancestors was to hold a banquet and drink yourself to a coma for five days in a row no less.

To be honest, Galahad was shocked when he met his brother he imagined him as a strong tall stout and warrior like himself. A man too rugged to be a knight, not a proper scholar. Furthermore, it wasn't uncommon of a new ruler to banquet for a couple of weeks before properly assuming his tasks. Galahad coughed and responded a bit confused.

"Mister you said you are my brother but you are not a warrior and you speak all proper like. Furthermore, how can you afford such a fine silk robe?"

Nikolas scoffed and responded.

"Your older brother is a well-known scholar and a successful businessman as well as one of the few men in the kingdom with a minor level of understanding of the occult,"

Galahad just nodded and said.

"Well I do care about the fief but I was waiting for the treasurer to appear and make a report. It is infuriating the fact that he still hasn't appeared ,"

Nikolas looked at his brother like he was a buffoon

"Dear brother your title is only one of a landed knight why in the seven hells. Would you have a treasurer your realm barely has two hundred souls for you to manage?"

He then sighed and said

"Don't worry it doesn't matter. Your older brother came here with a Ducal decree putting me in charge of the daily running of the fiefdom you can train the men and kill monsters if you want or laze around, I don't care. But as I am not technically the owner of the fiefdom and I still am your older brother I shall inform you about the happenings in the small chance that you learn one or two things."

Galahad was shocked, pleased and angry all at the same time. He was shocked because it was decreed that his brother will actually manage and in reality all but own his fief. He was angry his brother would do something like that and the fact that was a snotty uppity bastard(His brother is not actually a bastard it is used as an insult in this context) and finally he was pleased because he didn't look forward on managing the fief and was planning to just give the task to the treasurer. The one he just learned doesn't exist.

Before Galahad could say anything Nikolas continued.

"I looked through the treasury, I assessed the development level of the fief and sent my men to do a census as well as a thorough check of the warehouses and granaries. Have you done anything? "

The Treasury has 0 Gold Coins 189 silver coins and 1023 bronze ones. Specifically 2 Grand Silvers (Half Gold) 7 Quarter Silvers and 180 whole silvers(1/100 of a gold) you also have 10 Grand Bronzes and 123 Quarter Bronzes and 900 whole bronzes. Some minor jewelry and a bit of steel and our familial steel Armour. Overall the value is about 10 whole Golds. Thanks to the bookkeeping of the series of knights holding the fief for the past twelve years. I know that your realm has slowly and steadily lost our fathers accumulated treasury. Specifically, we had 100 whole golds in the treasury but through disasters, famines and the slow and steady decrease of all of your sectors of the economy led the fief to run a growing deficit year after year transforming your treasury to its current pitiful form. The average running cost of the realm has decreased from a net gain of 10 whole gold a year to losing 10 whole golds a year. In other words, you are almost bankrupt.

Specifically, our economy has decreased thanks to a series of minor disasters such as warehouse fires droughts the wages of the temporary lords. The poaching of almost all our capable craftsmen.the decrease in trade. The decrease in population and as a follow up your taxes. Furthermore, Baron Monver your direct liege has increased your taxes three times. Finally, the loss of skilled personnel has increased the number of products the realm imports and decreased the number of products the fief exports. Specifically, the fief exports Furs, Lumber, Herbs, and Clothes. The realm is mostly sufficient in Grains and meat but it needs to import everything else such as wine and craft goods. About ten years ago before father died the realm had a blacksmith which could produce some basic farming tools and maintain the men at arms equipment as well as a woodworker and a tanner.

Speaking of population the current population of your holding is 212 people. Made up of fifty-six working-age men specifically two craftsmen a tailor and a miller. Forty-one peasants split into three occupations farmers, hunters and lumberjacks to be exactly twenty-nine farmers eight hunters and four lumberjacks. The fief employs eleven, ten men at arms and a cook. There is also a priest and an innkeeper. There is also sixty women with only eight of them being actively employed. Four of them are employed by the aforementioned innkeeper two barmaids and two prostitutes and two nuns which work in the temple and we also employ two castle maids. The rest of them tend to their kids and help a bit with farming. Speaking of kids there is ninety-five of them forty-five boys and fifty girls. There is also one elderly man.

As for your infrastructure, it is as a matter of fact falling apart. Your roads haven't been paved with fresh gravel in a while the walls of the keep and the village are rotten at places. The regent has abandoned your observation towers which have since first fallen to a state of disrepair and finally completely rotted away.

On the topic of your Granaries you have enough food for the winter if nothing unexpected happens but if you don't fix your income situation, you might need to decrease the number of festivals which will make the peasants uneasy. Your men at arms are severely under-equipped and untrained and you will be easily wiped out if a goblin horde attacked.

But there is some new good news. First, you are a frontier knight and as such if you manage to colonize more nearby lands you should be able to petition the count to make you a baron. That is if you expand your realm about five times. But that will require both money and men.

Hearing the constant barrage of information from his older brother. Galahad thought why the fuck am I treated as a child. I am a man and most importantly. This frail man isn't my lord or even a landed noble. How dare he talk down to me?

Galahad then stood up towering over his brother by a whole head and said

"How dare you to talk to me like a child? You are not my lord and frankly, you are not welcome here if you don't respect me you and your whole entourage can fuck off or I will make you."

Nikolas just looked at his brother and disdain appeared in his face.

"How dare you a man with nothing but muscles for brains which has been drinking and eating away the money you inherited talk to me like that? And I wanted to take off some of my precious time to help you manage your realm. I had some hopes for you, kid being my brother and all. But all knights are the same as such I am leaving good luck at managing your realm, Sir Knight."

Galahad hearing his brothers words became red with anger and reached towards his sword but before he could do anything. Nikolas said with an ethereal tone.

"Fush,"

Galahad was then knocked off his feet. Falling head first to the floor and promptly falling unconscious.