Chapter 457 - 485 - 492

The Feral Wolves and the Magical Bear

"A man who can cook for himself, will never go hungry, but a man who can get a woman to cook for him, has made it in life." ~ Unknown mercenary.

Snow drizzled outside the window, everything was a wet white. The frozen wind descended in frigid gusts. The cabin jutted out of this white blanket, breaking the seamless purity of the mountainside, like a nail only half-hammered, three days abandoned.

Reidy and Tarkel had left for Windbury on skis a seven days ago. The letters they carried didn't have the customary household seal, but Lorist's handwriting was unmistakable, and his personal seal was worth far more than a household stamp in these trying times.

The order of most immediate concern was for Camorra. Lorist suggested a solution to the coming predicament, a simple, one word solution written in large bold strokes over half the page: borrow. No peasant, merchant, or noble household, no business, factory, storehouse, or other enterprise in his own lands or those of his allies was out of reach, as long as they had food, they had to lend it to him.

War had indeed ravaged the kingdom for years now, but none of the fighting had been done in either his or his allies' lands, so most of their stores were still wholly intact. On top of that, the years had been fair and gave good harvest, it would take a miracle, or an absolute idiot, for a house to not have full stores. Even Arriotoli's barony had overflowing vaults. The house usually bought most of their harvest, but they always held back some as a failsafe in case of famine or, indeed, war. Food was the most stable resource in the world, after all, because it was always needed, it always had value, and that only skyrocketed in wartime. Lorist trusted the three legions wouldn't have any problems borrowing from the nobles. No one would dare cross his forces when their master was the kingdom's only swordsaint, especially for a little food that was promised to be repaid with interest.

In a few more days the convoy would set out on their great pilgrimage. Even Arriotoli would not be spared. It displeased her quite a bit, but she knew how crucial this was to salvaging the situation so she could only stand by her lover's side.

The new year had rolled around three days ago, hence the abandoned cabin. Lorist spent the celebration in the castle with his lover and child. His injuried recovered, his lover had been demanding his undivided attention for these three days, determined to give Terryke a sibling.

"Crazy woman..." complained Lorist as he slapped his waist.

It was expected of lovers to be in each other's arms a lot of the time, but three days of uninterrupted loving was just punishment. If one put him out of commission for three days, what would five more, all two years deprived of his care, do to him? The thought sent shivers down his aching spine. Swordsaint or not, he could not handle so many women.

I'm overthinking... Lorist slapped his forehead.

He knocked the icicles off the sill above the door with his batons and entered. He took off his ludicrously thick clothing and put on something more reasonable, quickly lighting the brazier and fireplace to begin heating up the place. Next came the snow in the yard, lone man or not, housework had to be done.

It took him until early afternoon to finish the work needed outside and decided to patrol the forest before moving to dealing with the inside of the cabin. The decision came neither of a sense of duty to fulfill his temporary guard duties, and most certainly not out of a desire to avoid the work still needed inside the cabin. He just wanted to check the traps for any catches.

Many of his traps had indeed caught prey, but his three day absence was long enough for most of them to be devoured by passing predators, leaving only a bone or two connected to the actual snare. Some had no carcass at all, and only the blood and disturbance of the snare revealed they'd caught something. It was a shame. His traps had been set to catch turkeys and hare. They were plentiful and easy to find, and were the most delicious of all possible catches in early winter, having fattened themselves up for the season.

Seven of the 18 traps he'd set were undisturbed but empty. Three located in harder-to-reach places gave him two turkeys and a wild hare, but the remaining eight had been poached and the traps themselves ruined. The devastation he found at these traps and in the areas around them, convinced him several large predators had descended the mountain. At least two, maybe three wolves, and one magical bear. It seemed he would not be getting his much desired rest for a while.

Lorist had no thought of lighting the beacon though. He had returned to the peak of the Dan Ocean Ki-refining Technique's third stage, about rank 1 blademaster level, so the four pests, while irritating, were nothing he could not handle. He would be insulting himself if he lit the beacon, after all, the strongest person that could come to his aid would be Arriatoli herself, who was just a two-star silver rank.

He returned to the cabin, cleaned it, and made dinner -- turkey, hare, and mushroom soup, and a few sausages and several slices of black bread. He downed a few cups of raspberry wine, took another herbal bath, and went to bed.

The time was nearly right to begin training the Aquametal Technique again. The sooner he became a swordsaint again, the better. It would let him solve the house's troubles once and for all.

He found himself questioning the worth of being duke more often here in the mountain. It was true that nobles led far more luxurious lives than the peasantry, but with it came far greater stresses and troubles, most draining of which was the backstabbing and internal politics of their families. He had been the foreman of a workshop in his last life, these tribulations were far beyond his desire to deal with, and he didn't feel he really needed the luxuries he got in return. For all his stress and work he didn't get a television, a computer, the internet or a mobile phone. Had it been is old life, the only troubles he had to go through for all of the above was a day job and a little saving. No matter how high he rose in this worlds ranks, he could never even come close to the peasantry of his old life, and he certainly would never be as worry-free as them; if anything his worries would only grow and multiply. Oh, how he wished he could give all this up for a simple life like he'd had.

It did him no good to dwell on such things, however, however much he wished for it, he would never have his old life again, and pining for it would certainly not solve the very real tourbles he faced now. Besides, he was kept safe in this world not by his power or his position, but his cultivation. And what made it worthwhile for him were his loved ones, his responsibilities, and the joy of cultivating. His previous life could not give him the thrill of breaking through in his cultivation; he could not experience the pleasure of playing god with his enemies within his domain… He didn't think the joys of his previous life, missing them as much as he did, was worth giving up what he had now.

Besides, his family, friends, subordinates, allies, and vassals pinned their hopes and dreams on him. He could not let them down. And then there were his three disciples, the three stooges. He certainly could not give up the joy of teaching the young ones.

Young ones? Am I growing old? I never used to bother with this much idle pondering. Lorist stroked his finally smooth chin.

Arriotoli refused to let him keep it. 'It's all for your disguise and you don't have to be afraid of the blademaster anymore'. They both knew it was only a convenient excuse. She just didn't appreciate his grand facial hair. He eventually caved and let her shave it, but she even went as far as to apply oil to his jaw. It now felt like an egg, or a baby's arse...

The hare sizzled as it's fat dripped on the coals.

They had a really good fall, huh? Just a bit more. A pinch of salt… There we go. Now it just needs to crisp up.

Last night's put was heating up again, the leftovers of the soup slowly turning liquid again. Its fragrance slowly wafted out the half-open window and chimney and drifted into the forest.

Hmm! Not bad.

Lorist wasn't a chef by any stretch of the imagination, but he believed he had quite decent skills, it was definitely above average for males of his age and background. He moved the pot to the table, shifting the brazier into a corner with his foot and brought over the bread and a flask of wine. He was just marvelling at his handiwork when he heard claws scratching at the front door.

He shut the door to the kitchen, moved the brazier to one of the rooms -- plunging the rest of the place into darkness -- and made his gingerly way to the window. Below him three cattle-sized wolves circled the house, scratching at the door in turns. They stopped and sniffed the air every time the wind shifted, as if to make sure the sent was still coming from the odd landscape feature in front of them.

Great! I was going to look for you today anyway, but you were kind enough to spare me the trouble.

He closed the window carefully, got the sword on the table, and headed for his bedroom. He climbed out of the window onto the roof there and moved to the edge. The wolves continued to claw at the door and circle around in blissful ignorance of the devil looming over them, their minds wholly focused on getting to the source of the scent.

Lorist stepped off the roof and sunk into the soil beneath, crushing one of the wolves beneath him. His sword flung out and impaled itself in the second wolf through its eye. The poor puppy collapsed to the ground silently. The final wolf reacted in time, however, and flashed to the edge of the yard, preferring to stare at the intruder from a safe distance.

Lorist walked towards it calmly, sword in hand. The wolf glared at him but didn't make any moves. Instead, it backed of slowly, keeping a good distance. Lorist dashed at him the moment he reached the edge of the yard himself. The wolf responded in kind, leaping at him. Lorist flashed his blade and stepped out of the way, letting the lump of flesh crash into the other two lumps by the cabin.

"Dumb as always. Why do they insist on chasing everything they come across and think I'd stand nice and still for them to hit? Well, thanks to that the pelts are mostly intact so they should be worth a bit, and I don't even have to waste too much effort on cleaning them."

He returned to the crushed-but-still-whimpering wolf and finished it off with a stab through what remained of its eye socket. Just as he was about to open the door, however, he suddenly vanished. A miniscule moment later, a claw streaked by where he'd been standing. Leaving several deep etches on the door.

Lorist landed three meters away.

Today seems to be my lucky day! All four of my prey came to me. I didn't even have to leave the yard!

The beast that faced him now stood at least 2.5 meters on its hinds, about as big as a magical beast could get. Oh, how happy Arriotoli would be to get its pelt. She had a few magic pelts, but they were nowhere near as big as this one would be, and they were certainly not as intact.

She'll probably brag about how brave her house was and how valiantly they fought against the bear. I doubt she'll consider me an outsider for this, well, even if she did, I doubt she'd admit it and give up the glory.

The bear stared at its paw incredulously. How had its prey just vanished? It was certain it should be a paste by now. Its attention suddenly drifted to the wolf carcasses by the door and forgot about Lorist completely. It just wanted to enjoy the feast.

"Fuck off! They're mine!"

Lorist appeared in front of the beast and sheathed his sword in its eye. The bear roared in pain and flailed wildly for a few moments before it collapsed.

Arriotoli arrived a few hours later to check on her hubby, having heard the beast's cry all the way down in the valley. When she saw the creatures in the yard, she buried her tongue in Lorist's mouth for a few seconds before taking the carcasses away.

Karitoke

The white snow was already wiped away. Only the damaged walls and the burning farms of the small towns remained. Corpses, frozen green, and large black blood holes littered the ground. The wind carried stifled moans and agonized cries. The once prosperous plains were now the gateway to hell.

Of the seven cities, Morante was the sole shining pearl. The rest were built solely to protect it. Rhw Union, having angered King ANdinaq had lost 300 thousand men on the plains around these cities. It was the biggest blow the Union had ever suffered, not even the centuries of war with the old empire had anything comparable. The slap still sat red on the Union's faces. It was a painful lesson to learn, without a strong military, no superpower would be one for long.

Three of the cities had been lost to their enemy -- Bluwek, Ritt, and Krido. Two of the provinces on the plains, Gudlink and Mauvlin, and five neighboring provinces were also now completely empty wastelands, raided clean by two Norton legions.

Their only saving grace was that the offensive stirred up memories of the old war and whipped their citizens into a furor. Twinhead Dragon's president swore an oath to wipe Andinaq of the face of the world if it was the last thing he did.

"For two centuries we have stood against those wolves in the north," his words had rung, "They have lusted after our plains for centuries. For generations our people have shed their blood to keep them safe, in return they've wanted nothing by freedom! Four decades of peace our ancestors won with blood, sweat, and tears. Now, having barely licked their wounds clean, the wolves come for the plains again! Once again we must fight, bleed, and die for our freedom! Let us put them down once and for all!"

His words were fuel on the fire. Tens of thousands answered the call and the Union now had another legion to throw at their enemy. The new forces were moved to Mass, Gypsy, and Robertway, the four yet to fall to the enemy.

"Does the Union think the last two hundred years haven't happened? Do they really think we have not learned from our predecessor's mistakes? Ptooey!" Auguslo spat as he watched dozens of catapults smash another stronghold's walls and the grey mass of Whitelion soldiers storm through the gap.

The plains were rich and prosperous because of the natural causeways and man-made canals that ran through it like veins through flesh. They fed fields and carried goods year round. During war, they were barriers to hold back the enemy. A simple fort became an impenetrable citadel when there was water between it and it's assailants.

"Your Majesty, even if the Union knows we can attack in the winter they can't counter it. They can only watch their us streak across the canals and smash their walls!" Ripleid commented.

Auguslo finally had a successful winter campaign last year. The spoils meant he could finally afford form-fitting winter wear for all of Whitelion, which he promptly ordered from House Norton. It didn't look any different from their usual winter wear, so they could easily launch surprise attacks. He wanted to clear out the rest of the plains in one swoop and march on Morante.

Though the Union made some preparations, it didn't occur to them that their man-made canals would freeze over. The usual barriers were rendered useless and one stronghold after another fell to catapult barrages. The garrisons defending the strongholds had nowhere to run and could only fight to their deaths or surrender. In just tens of days, Whitelion broke through the first line made of hundreds of ad hoc strongholds and made their way to Robertway.

Karitoke stood on Robertway's walls and watched the distant crumbling strongholds and enemy gathering in the ruins. All of the soldiers understood the enemy would begin their attack at noon, and none could say for sure whether they would survive. He used to be one of the enemy. He used to be one of the enemy king's direct subordinates, actually. Now, however, he stood opposite his former liege. Where the king used to trust him, he now hated him.

Eighteen years earlier he was a student in Dawn Academy. He was enamored with Iron Locke, and joined the swordsmanship society to be close to his idol. He was excited for his bright future, certain he would be the next legendary swordsman in the academy.

His life changed radically when Lorist left for his ancestral home. Charade convinced him to give everything up and join his idol. He was excited to use his talents to make a name for himself and maybe even become a noble. Would it not be great to be a vassal under his idol? The journey was arduous, but it polished his swordsmanship. He was one of just ten councilors chosen from the 36 students and instructors that followed Lorist, he could weigh in on the convoy's future in Lorist's absence. He even stood at the head of a small faction loyal to him.

When they set foot in Andinaq, he ran into the king, then known only as the second highness, who spared no effort to woo him into switching sides. Maybe it was the thought of being an imperial knight, regardless, he accepted and switched sides with seven of his fellow former students. He could still see Charade, Terma, Dulles, and Lundmorde's looks of disdain as he left the convoy. They cut to the bone and his self-esteem had yet to recover. He, however -- being the arrogant, naive idiot he was, covered up his pain with anger. He thought they were the fools. Lorist would just be a count and they could never be anything more than simple knights. He now served the future king as an imperial knight!

Oh how great it all sounded in his head. His fantasies were quickly shattered. He and his companions were just pawns, used and disposed at their king's leisure. A single fight with Madras saw two of them dead. Flowater Creek followed, and, while Auguslo became famous as the new generation's first god of war, only two of the original seven remained, Karitoke and Sander.

Lorist came to find him for the paradise gathering, and, on hearing of his misadventures, offered him a chance to return to his side, promising to take care of any objections or obstacles in his way, but he hesitated when he thought of the disdain his former companions would have for him and the humiliation he would have to suffer and didn't rejoin his idol.

Sander fell in Auguslo's crossing of Cloudsnap. With his last friend, and his only reason for staying dead, Karitoke left Auguslo and snuck back to Morante. But he found both himself, and the Union unrecognizable. They had recently implemented their nobility system and occupied their neighbouring territories. His plan was initially to become a mercenary, but there were all but no mercenaries left. He tried to become an instructor at his old academy, but they could barely keep their doors open. He could not fathom what had ripped the world apart so thoroughly. He stayed at home for a full year before he had the strength to walk outside again. If not for the fact that his parents were industrious citizens and that his elder brother was afraid he had come back to fight him for their parents' inheritance, he might have stayed there until he died of old age.

His parents were thrilled that he had become a gold-ranked knight. They prettymuch threatened him with suicide if he didn't join his father's guild so the man could get a promotion.

Now, he stood opposite both his idol and his former king. His mouth smiled bitterly as he watched Whitelion's flag flap over the Union fort. The seven pale-faced men around him were fellow garrison commanders. None were from big guilds and none had fought any real battles.

Karitoke currently had the rank of colonel and command of the second sentry legion's eleventh division. A command of eight thousand men. Apart from the thousand men from the first regiment directly under his command, all the men were passionate and idealistic Morantians and guards from various merchant guilds.

"No reason to be nervous. Our walls are tougher than the small strongholds. The catapults will do nothing to them. They can only shoot 300 meters,which our ballistae can match. As long as we destroy the catapults, they have no hope of taking the walls," Karitoke consoled his subordinates.

"I'm not kidding! The catapults are nothing to fear. You know why I had you stack the walls with sandbags? It'll make them much stronger against the catapults. As long as we hide behind them, the catapults can't to anything. You don't think our luck is that bad, right?"

"B-but... The catapults could make a hole in our walls for the enemy to rush in..." said one of the pale-faced leaders.

"I already envisioned that long ago. If they make a hole in our walls, we can use these sandbags to fill it up," replied Karitoke calmly.

"W-we're definitely going to die! I-it's better if we run immediately..." Everyone was on the brink of breaking down.

"Bastard! Where do you plan to run, huh? It's snowing and freezing all over! And do you think you can outrun the two wooden sticks the enemies wear beneath their feet? If you say anything else that'll affect our morale, I'll kill you myself!" raged Karitoke. Just as he was about to give that man a slap to snap him out of it, what happened next was beyond anyone's imagination. A thin layer of ice that formed on the ground caused him to slip and almost fall.

"Who the f*ck poured tea on the ground?!" yeled he, before an idea popped up in his head. He recalled what Lorist said about watering the walls to reinforce them to fend off the magic beast attacks.

Elated, Karitoke proclaimed, "I have a way! A way to prevent the catapults from pulverizing our walls!"

War on the Plains

"He who fights in the rain, dies sogging wet." ~ famous Grindian proverb

On the 10th day of the 12th month, Year 1788, Andinaq launched another assault in the Falik Plains. Auguslo led Whitelion and crushed the first line of defense, strongholds across the man made canals, within four days and arrived at Robertway. Andinaq was among the first to use the catapult and almost all the Union higher-ups believed Robertway would fall in less than three days.

However, the defenders filled the walls and turned them into ice fortifications. No matter how many times Andinaq fired, they couldn't breach Robertway's walls. Angered and frustrated, Auguslo led Whitelion on a couple of direct attacks without any successes and moderate casualties.

Auguslo had planned to use no more than a month to deal with all the strongholds in the plains and conquer the three cities before moving on to Morante. He'd either conquer the city, if there were exploitable weaknesses in its defences, or besiege it and force the Union's leaders to surrender. In the following negotiations the Union would either have to ceded vast swathes of territory, or give up most of their wealth.

It wasn't that Auguslo wasn't willing to fight a protracted campaign; his vassals were getting tired and wanted to go home. They'd only joined the campaign because they thought it would be a quick campaign, not this now three-year-long war. They'd also been fighting for most of the three years and had suffered many casualties. Fatigue had weathered their resolve and enthusiasm. Some had even started finding excuses to sit out on battles.

Things had gotten worse much faster after the Nortons left. He had to move Pegasus and Fisablen's reserve and frontier legions in to fill in. They did well, but they didn't have the Nortons' staying power, they were being whittled down much faster and the two dukes had already asked to be allowed to return home and recouperate.

Auguslo had made the audacious declaration that he wouldn't stop until he set foot on Morante's central square as the city's new master, but he was actually fine with ending the war as it was now. The old empire had fought with the Union for centuries and had never even made it near the city, but he'd taken three of the Union's most powerful citadels on the plains and taken back everything the empire had lost and then some. This was already enough to cement his name in the history books for centuries to come. He was already on part with the Empire's founder.

The forty years of peace since the empire's fall had made the towns on the plains rich, especially the three citadels. The nobles didn't believe their eyes when they saw the inside of the vaults, filled to the brim with plunder. And this didn't even include House Norton's plunder, which they hadn't even let him see. This would normally be considered a supreme lese majeste, but since Lorist was now the kingdom's most powerful warrior, its sole swordsaint, Auguslo let it go.

Auguslo now turned his mind to the coronation ceremony he was going to have when he returned to the capital to crown himself First Emperor of the new empire. First, though, he had to wrap up this little war. He wanted to make sure it would be centuries before the Union ever thought of making trouble for the Empire again, and millennia before they actually could.

He didn't think he would be stopped at Robertway, the fucking ice-fortress. Karitoke, the leader of the city's garrison, had been holding him at bay for over a month now. He'd also heard that the man was made a baron for his efforts. He used to be one of Auguslo's subordinates, which stung even more. He'd defected to the Union several years earlier, and the Union made every effort to mock him for his inability to keep good subordinates on his side.

His advantage on the field in his most recent campaign was not because of his own tactical brilliance, or the power of his forces, it was thanks to the catapults he got from Lorist, in that sense his glory was only partially his. Karitoke's use of the canals to counter his tactic, however, was entirely to his own credit, all of that glory went to him. It bit at Auguslo's pride.

It was in the midst of this struggle that Tarkel and Reidy visited Lorist in his cabin again. Camorra had taken note of his lord's orders and had dealt with the situation. Loze and Potterfang had arrived with their legions and the immigrants and were resting up. Josk and Jaeger were still lagging behind though.

The great borrowing didn't run into any trouble, apart from a few unwilling nobles who had to be convinced with a firmer hand. Camorra had, however, sent word back with the messengers asking how to settle the immigrants since the food would only last them till the end of the rainy season and Winston couldn't accommodate anymore people.

Lorist prepared a letter to be taken back with Tarkel and Reidy ordering the baron to send 500 thousand to Wild Husbandry and start resettling the land. Josk would accompany them with Jaeger and see to their safety. A hundred thousand of the most skilled among the immigrants were to be settled in Windbury and Pedro to boost their industries. The new settlers in Wild Husbandry would also jumpstart the abandoned trade routes to and in the province. The rest would be used to finish any unfinished infrastructure projects. They would be settled in the Northlands once Lorist had taken care of the rebels.

Lorist continued his training after his two messenger boys left. The rest of winter and the rainy season passed, soon it was harvest season. Lorist was now back to rank 3 blademaster level and only needed another two month to be back to full strength.

Arriotoli was declared pregnant in the 6th month, finally putting and end to Lorist's torture.

Tarkel and Reidy came round again on the 17th of the 6th. Only Tarkel came to the cabin however, Reidy was rolling in the bedsheets with his little lover back at the castle. Tarkel brought news of Auguslo's defeat on the plains. He'd retreated to Krido and was standing his ground there. The confrontation had cost the two sides 170 thousand men, two thirds of which were Union dead.

Lorist was speechless when Tarkel informed him that it wasn't a set piece battle at all. Neither side had thought a big battle would happen. It had started as a skirmish, but both sides, each unwilling to lose it, kept piling in reinforcements. They only realised what was happening when it was already too late, and they were completely committed. Auguslo only withdrew because he realised he couldn't match the Union.

Tarkel also talked about the winter campaign between Auguslo and his former subordinate. Auguslo kept going at it until the snow melted, but was completed swamped when the rain fell. He couldn't cross the morass the excess water made before the Union's reinforcements arrived and was forced to fight the now numerically superior enemy. He called up his vassals, but the morass between the two forces kept both from making any decisive attacks. The forces were separated into many smaller units scattered across the morass on the small firmland islands.

Auguslo's forces were upstream of the Union and one of his vassals suggested they send fire boats down the river into the Union's wooden fortifications. It didn't do much, only burning a couple bridges and setting fire to a few camps. The Union retaliated a few days later. They set Auguslo's main camp on fire one night, killing almost a hundred men and burning almost a third of the camp to the ground.

Auguslo retaliated in kind, which prompted the same from the Union in a to-and-fro which lasted several weeks. In one of these exchanged, the attacking side got bogged down in the fight, and both sides kept sending in reinforcements, which eventually turned into a full-on battle. By the time the two sides realised what was happening, neither could back out. If they did, the enemy would push their forces forward and rush their camps, driving the other side out of the morass altogether and possibly crushing much of their army in the process.

Auguslo was slightly faster than the Union in committing all of his reserves and got the early upper hand, but the Union wasn't far behind and the stalemate was soon re-established. The forces were eventually forced to return to their camps, but the fighting didn't really stop. The islands became like a chess board. When one side lost an island, they would soon take another.

Seing where this was going, and with less forces he could afford to lose, Auguslo was forced to withdraw. Auguslo lost 60 thousand in the month-long campaign, the Union 110 thousand. Despite their heavier losses, however, the Union now had the initiative and drove Auguslo back to Krido. Auguslo had lost fewer forces, but he also had fewer to begin with.

"It's time I returned home," said Lorist.

"Is Your Grace fully recovered?" asked Tarkel.

"Yes. Come, let's go home. I have some house cleaning to do."

Bad News

Lorist's return to The Northlands was a breeze. No one was willing to fire at him. Wherever he went, the rebels surrendered obediently. They let Firmrock march across the river as well and didn't resist when they were arrested.

On the 21st day of the 7th month, Year 1789, Lorist, led the Northsea fleet to the city of Northsea. The sentry legion's third brigade, first division received him and surrendered. Lorist headed straight for Maplewoods and rescued Belnick, who was still sitting prisoner there, and arrested everyone related to the bastide, Irina and her sons included.

From there he retook the town of Poplar and marched onwards to Nico Academy where his visited Telesti and his daughters. He rested there for two days and then left for Firmrock Castle, making an appearance at every town along the way. The castle was taken without incident and Lorist ordered news of his return be spread to the rest of the world.

The first to bring bad news was Howard, who came from Cherry Blossom Ridge. The cannon foundry and training grounds were discovered by the blademasters after him. They thought he was hiding behind the guards, and attacked. Lorist read the damage report and exploded. Of the 200 cannons, 141 was destroyed, and 1377 of the 2000 artillerymen were dead or injured. The sentry regiment suffered 824 casualties. Their captain, Jim, was still recovering from his wounds and Regiment Sergeant-Major Paulobins was dead.

Lorist managed to keep himself under control, but completely lost it when he heard about what happened to his refineries in the Bladedge mountain range. Grandmaster Sid's research facilities and foundries as well as Grandmaster Felin's workshops were searched, by enemy blademasters, lead there by the constabulary. Most of the blueprints for his weaponry was stolen.

"Who... who gave the order?! Who revealed our top secret industrial centers to the enemy?!" Lorist's demanded, eyes bleeding.

"S-Supervisor Hansk. He sent the constabularies and the blademasters. He said he was forced to do so because they held Madam Irina and the second young master hostage, so he had no choice but to yield to their demands. He even said that since Your Grace wasn't there, there was no harm in letting them go...

"He even said the house spent too much money there without seeing any returns and wanted to uncover what was going on there. He said the mountains were part of the old house's domain and was thus under Lysecott's jurisdiction. As such, he had to root out the corruption there. He planned to investigate the accounts personally when he had the time.

"When the blademasters found the cannon ranges and the explosives research center, Sir Jim refused the search order and got into a fight. Several dozens were killed before they could chase the blademasters away. Which roused their suspicions.

They attacked the facilities 14 days later. Jim was prepared and had several canons aimed at the valley entrance. The first volley killed three blademasters and heavily wounded four. The remaining seven retreated with the dead and wounded. They snuck into the valley that night and slaughtered everyone and destroyed the cannons..."

"Where are they now?"

The cannons and the men that operated them were his trump cards. They were his house's greatest security. It had taken them years to build the cannons and train the men, this was an unbelievable setback. It would take years to recover, maybe even a decade.

"They left The Northlands in the 5th month. Supervisor Hansk issued arrest warrants for them, but he has no strength to actually carry it out. They left by sea and we only know they're heading south."

Lorist stroked his chin. So he had seen so few during his stay in the barony because they were mostly busy here.

"How many blueprints?"

"The ones for the super steel ballistae, three types of catapults, and 16 types of armor. They also took the designs for Jaeger's new crossbows. The rest are designs for failed projects. Fortunately, Master Julian's material recipes were kept safe. I don't think they knew what those recipes were so they just left them. Without them, it should be almost impossible to make the designs work."

Lorist breathed a sigh of relief. That they'd left behind the recipes was his only consolation. It was manageable to lose the designs, but the recipes could not be leaked. The former were pretty much useless without the latter.

"Is Sylvia and the others alright?"

"Lady Sylvia, your mistresses, and your children are fine. They told me to tell you not to worry about them and deal with the situation first. Lady Sylvia said they would spend the summer in the palace and return to Ragebear come autumn."

"I heard Jinolio and Shuss went there with the city's garrison. Reidy and I are worried, why didn't they come with you?"

"Jinolio's helping me investigate what let all this come about. Supervisor Hansk played a huge part, but he certainly can't be the sole reason behind this."

"No worries. You did well. Jinolio did great too. I heard the blademaster actually barged into the mansion in Ragebear and you even held one back for a time. Is it true?"

Howard scratched his head.

"I was at a disadvantage and even hurt my hand. I had no choice but to have Jinolio write the reports. He has pretty handwriting at least. I'm only at the level of a two-star gold rank. Your training is what let me fight a blademaster.

"Six came over to search the mansion. They were really careful since they knew you were a blademaster. They didn't cause anyone any trouble or hurt anyone. Apart from Blademaster Shuss, Lady Xanthi and Grandpa Engelich was there too. They were the ones who chased the blademasters away."

Howard didn't blow other people's horns, nor was he greedy with credit. His humility was refreshing.

"Since the cannon range is damaged, Paulobins is dead and Jim is injured, I need someone to take care of the mess. You will be the artillery brigade's major. Rebuild the brigade. I will have Sid restore the cannons. You can fill your command as you see fit. What do you think?"

"You wish is my command, Your Grace," Howard saluted, "It's just... Is it okay to hand internal security to Jinolio?"

Lorist shook his head.

"Jinolio is still young and na�ve. He should focus on his training instead. He'll stand by my side again. Anyone else in mind?"

"Baron Calliston is a suitable candidate."

"How so?"

"Internal security is basically spying on the people in the house for the house's safety. I didn't get a grasp on things quick enough, Hansk rebelled before I could get everything in place. Baron Kriston is in charge of investigating crimes in a whole region and I've met with him a number of times. He was the one who pointed out the odd prejudice the constabulary and sentries have against the immigrants. I didn't take his warning seriously and investigate. I would have caught this before the rebellion if I had.

"While the constabulary is important, we shouldn't waste Baron Kriston's talent there. He is bright, capable, and -- most of all -- loyal. He is a perfect replacement."

"Alright. I'll summon him when I go back to Ragebear."

Lorist arrived in Ragebear on the 25th of the 7th. The moment the city gates opened, Glacia, the new general of the first sentry legion, paid her respects to him with her subordinates. Firmrock relieved the local garrison, which left the city, leaving only Glacia and Lorist to walk to the castle and mansion.

"This isn't fair, Locke. The men were just following orders. They didn't know they were betraying the house. They were actually the most loyal. You can't treat them like this."

"So I should, what? Reward them? Knowingly or not, they betrayed me and rebelled against my authority. You're my elder cousin sister. I really appreciate that you're willing to step out of the shadows to serve the house. I'm thankful for what you did for Sylvia and for keeping a battle from breaking out. But there's something you're failing to understand. You may think this is what's good for the house, but it's not. I'm already doing as little as possible. I am going to execute everyone involved in this rebellion knowingly, the legion should just be thankful their heads aren't going to roll as well."

"No! You can't, Locke! The men were following orders. They're loyal!" cried Glacia. She didn't understand why Lorist would be this angry.

Lorist smiled bitterly.

"Firmrock, Tigersoar, and Jaeger's men are the loyal ones. While the sentry legion are obedient, we don't know for sure where their loyalties lie. You know almost all the men in the legion used to be our prisoners. They're all former enemies. They were only recruited because they served us well for years. This is nothing but a way to feed their families to them.

"The policies I have for my men make them increasingly loyal over time, yes. Whether it be Firmrock, Tigersoar, or Jaeger, even if their general went missing and many of their superior officers were replaced, I am willing to bet they would never march on my capital even if they were ordered to. I would have to order them to do so myself, in person or they would kill anyone who showed any sign of listening to the order. They would never believe I gave such an order in my absence and would arrest the messengers immediately.

"Even a letter written in my handwriting and carrying my personal seal might not be enough for them to carry out such an order. Were they really following orders or are they just fools? Did they never question their orders? Is someone who follows a wrongful order loyal to the house?"

Glacia was speechless.

"...Then how will you deal with the men?"

"I will not let them stay in my demesne. They can settle in Wild Husbandry. If they don't want that, they can move to one of my other jurisdictions, but I will not let them set foot on my land again."

The Loyalty of a Scoundrel, The Loyalty of a Traitor

"The law is the law. Princes and paupers are punished the same!" ~ Norton Lorist

Hey Guys!

Winter and summer are past their prime in their respective hemispheres and will soon begin winding down. At the same time we are about to hitting our final hundred chapters in TRL, and they are more exciting than any that have come before! We've decided to implemented two new patreon tiers so you guys can binge the big buildup and look forward to hearing what you guys have to say. Things are heating up and the stakes are becoming greater and greater. What new twist or turn will Lorist's journey take? The new tiers, Extinct Swordgod and Ancient Magus have the answers. We'd also like to let our patrons know that we're implementing charge up front on our patreon page. Which means you'll be charged for any new pledges or increases in your pledges as you make them, not just at the end of the month. We look forward to this new chapter and can't wait to find out where the novel will go in it's final 100! And, since we can't wait, and have recently come onto some extra free time, we've decided to put up a new goal! If you guys can help us reach that goal, we'll put out 6 chapters a week until we finish TRL!

Excited Greetings

Ryogawa and Prince.

Spiel stared at Hans, who stood in front of the reception team, and felt like laughing. Hansk had held power for a few days, far above the command of anybody else and with the power to jail anyone, even Kedan was forced to go with the flow to make sure the administration's operations weren't impeded. However, when Hansk received word of Lorist's return, he aged ten years overnight. His aloofness and arrogance vanished; he now acted with earnest sincerity and a twang of fear. He had, after all, named himself chief administrator. Though Lorist might tolerate his son's appointment to heir, he wouldn't let Hansk off scot free.

Hansk appeared a martyr as he awaited Lorist's arrival. He instructed Lysecott in hushed tones how to greet his father and how to deal with his questions. He might even believe making Lysecott the heir in exchange for his life was the right and best thing he could do. If one viewed it in that light, he was indeed loyal to the house. Unfortunately Lorist didn't care for loyalty to the house, but about loyalty to him, personally. Besides, the house to which Hansk was loyal wasn't the same house Lorist was in.

Horses rumbled up the street. Lorist soon appeared round a curve in the road. Glacia rode behind him. Reidy, Tarkel, Potterfang, the guard brigade, and Firmrock followed behind her. The reception group started chattering, Hansk and Lysecott included. When Lorist stopped in front of them on horseback, they bowed. Everyone understood Lorist was House Norton's sky. He was now a swordsaint and the proudest protector of the house.

"We welcome Your Grace back to the house..."

According to noble etiquette, Lorist should get off his horse and ask them to drop the formalities before tending to the officials there to receive him one by one. He didn't need to say much, only a word or two of greeting and a pat on their shoulders to thank them for their hard work and express his gratitude. But their lord sat firmly in his saddle. Everyone felt his eyes stab the tops of their heads. Everything was quiet as a soft gust of wind blew across the yard. The pressure made some who knew what they did lower their heads further and bow deeper as if it would help them hide in the others' shadow.

"Your Grace!" Hansk finally stood straightened up proudly to dispel the atmosphere.

Lorist waved his hand without saying anything. Reidy, astride his horse, trotted in front of the group. He took a silver tube out of a pocket on his saddle. He removed from it a scroll which he unrolled and read.

"Grus! Ivanson! Ikefall! Moslin! Byschuss!..."

Two guards vanished into the reception party and dragged someone out with every name announced. A few realized they were all either Hansk's confidantes or people from the bastide. Most were retired soldiers who'd moved to the constabulary and had been deeply involved in the rebellion. Reidy didn't name either Hansk or Lysecott though.

"What are you doing?!" Hansk panicked and ran up to Reidy.

Reidy tightened his legs round the horse's middle, and it sidestepped Hansk, who now stood at its flank. Reidy slipped his foot out of the stirrup and slammed it into the man's face. The old man stumbled back several feet and fell to the ground. He raised his head heavily. A dirty boot print and bruise straddled his face. He spat out a mouthful of blood and two teeth. The names continued to be announced.

One after another the culprits were dragged out of the group. Reidy rolled the scroll up and return it to the tube when 45 stood on the side. Lorist dismounted behind him and walked up to the remaining officials, a sincere smile on his face. He raised each from the ground and thanked them warmly.

Kedan apologized to Lorist, tears running down his face incessantly on behalf of the thirty or so left.

"No apology can make up for this, Your Grace. It is our fault this could not be stopped or avoided."

Lorist waved dismissively.

"Don't say anything. You did what you could. You did well to not spill blood. You continued to perform your duties and waited for my return loyally. You did the right thing. I cannot express my gratitude adequately. But let these two words stand. Thank you."

The officials in the centre of the yards shuddered, tears running down their faces. The ones held by the guards on the side paled. Lorist had declared the incident a rebellion with these words. There were all now officially traitors, at least as far as everyone else was concerned, and they would be recorded as such in the house's records, if every mention of them was not erased entirely.

"We... we're not traitors! We're the ones most loyal to the house! We will not stand for this insult!" Hansk shouted, his face crimson. There was no greater insult to his loyalty. He stepped in front of Lorist in spite of his swollen face.

"Ho, look who we have here," Lorist chirped as he finally noticed Hansk's existence, "I'm curious, Baron. What are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to buzz off to your lands and reflect on your shitty attitude and behaviour? I resolved myself to not mention things further out of consideration for what you did for me in the past, but here you are. Tell me, who gave you permission to come here, and who told you you could open your mouth?"

"I..." Hansk suddenly realised his dilemma. His prepared arguments were useless. Lorist didn't recognise him as an official of the house, but spoke to him as just another vassal. Clearly he had no authority to meddle in the house's affairs as an outsider. Without recognition as a member of the house, he had no foot to stand on, no excuse for his presence or actions.

If he were indeed a loyal house official, he should have stayed in his dominion as ordered. He had no right to leave his lands if he still regarded himself as a house official. Being here was itself basically a declaration that he was no longer a house official, just a vassal.

"I... I was here to support Young Master Lysecott as regent and heir de jure. I was only doing my duty as a loyal servant," he replied after some thought.

"Hehe, regent? Heir de jure?" Lorist turned to the shivering ostrich. Hate flashed across his eyes as they gazed at the fat figure.

"I don't remember ever naming an heir," the man murmured, as if in thought to himself. "Lysecott, my son, time really flies. You're seventeen already. I was too busy, so I neglected your upbringing. I didn't think you were in such a rush to become heir de jure. Is this really what you want?"

Though Lysecott didn't frequently get to see his father, he feared him down to his bones. Lorist had tossed him to Malek's family to be disciplined. The man even had Reidy cane him thirty times in Nico Academy publicly because of a simple mistake and sent him back to the bastide, bloody and battered. He remembered the lessons and froze though Lorist asked him nicely. He couldn't stop teeth chattering.

When his father's gaze fell on him, he remembered his mother's instructions and Hansk's encouraging words. 'No matter what, you're His Grace's eldest son. He won't do much to you'. He mustered his courage and answered.

"Mo-mother a-and Ha-- Uncle Hansk said I am your rightful heir. Everything that belongs to the house also belongs to me and no-no one ca-can take it from m-me..."

"My rightful heir?" Lorist laughed, stretching out his hand.

Tarkel handed him a scroll.

"I was injured and lost contact. You declared yourself heir on your own, I never endorsed you. I can't fault you, having ambition isn't a bad thing, but you listened to others. You're just going along with the ambitions of others. Others used you and you were happy to be manipulated. You're nothing but a brainless fool--" Lorist opened the scroll. "--You've been in Ragebear for seven months, right? Let's see what you did."

"Wow, how amazing! You raped 21 maidservants, killed four servants and a cook because you didn't like their cooking and tossed their heads into the fire. Your uncle even went out of his way to gag everyone for your sake and buried the corpse in the garden...

"You ordered Dawn Academy to tie up Helias and send him to you so could get back at him for calling you out when you were harassing your half-sisters. The academy refused, so you ordered the legion to burn it to the ground. Luckily Glacia refused. In turn you cursed her in front of a lot of people.

"You sent your guards after Madam Malek so you could pay her back for the years of hard work she put in to raising you properly. Luckily she wasn't at the mansion, but in retaliation you burned it to the ground.

"You went out four times in the last seven months and raped three women and killed their families. You ran thirteen people over in the streets with your carriage, killing three and badly injuring the rest. You demanded tributes of interesting trinket from the merchants in the city...

"I admire that you did everything I wanted to, but didn't. I've always wanted to act like you did and ignore everything, I've always entertained the idea of being a tyrant. You know why I didn't become one? If I did, my father, your grandfather, would hang me to apologize to the ancestors and strike my name from the registry.

"Your mother spoiled you and raised you into a monster. You don't have empathy or humanity. As House Norton's lord, as your father, I have to correct my mistake. You are hereby struck from the family registry. Neither you, nor anyone else, may ever use your name and House Norton's name in the same sentence. You are unfit of my name, unfit to be even a bastard. I shall uphold my father's honour, the honour of my ancestors, and the honour of my name. The world will be told of your crimes. The names of every victim and the crime you committed against them will be tattooed on your body and you will be hanged in the city square. Once you're dead, your body will be left on the gallows to rot."

Lorist turned to everyone else present and raised his voice.

"From this day forth this shall be the fate of every man, woman, and child who tarnishes the Norton name! Be they peasant, soldier, official, noble, or family member!"

Lysecott paled and stumbled backwards as he listened to the lord. He never dreamt the man had been keeping such a close eye on him. His gaze flitted to the house's officials. He was certain they had ratted on

"F-f-f-father... F-f-forgive me..." he tripped and fell on his ass. His pants darkened, and a puddle formed under him.

"You can't do this, Your Grace! The king had recognized Lysecott as your heir. I have a sealed decree from His Majesty! You do not have the right or authority to harm him!" bellowed Hansk frantically as he scrambled in front of Lysecott and fumbled for Auguslo's decree.

"The king's decree?" Lorist chuckled, "Are you joking? Or did I hear wrong? Baron, when did I give the king the right to meddle in my personal affairs, or in the internal affairs of the house? Do you really think he can just appoint my heir on a whim? Is he trying to incite a rebellion and start another civil war?"

"H-He made his decree because you were absent and no one knew if you were still alive! We asked the king to endorse Lysecott because you weren't here to do so yourself!"

"And who told you I would ever have made him my heir?! So you didn't hear from me for a while, do you assume I'm dead the moment I walk out of the door and you can't see me? Do I have to stand in front of you every minute of every day so you can be sure I'm alive?! How quickly do you want me to die?" Lorist was a swordsaint, he could easily live for two or three centuries even if he never improved his cultivation another step. His endorsement aside, even if Lysecott was the best heir in the world, if he didn't become a swordsaint himself, he would never live long enough to inherit his father's position.

"Is that why you let the enemy blademaster go around looking for me? You were fine with revealing our secrets to the enemy as long as they could take me out of the picture for good, huh?! You killed 2000 of my loyal men!"

"I... I was just trying my best to ensure the house remained stable... and helping Young Master Lysecott manage the dominion. I am loyal..."

"Loyal? Ha! You soil the word with your lips!" Lorist sneered, "Even if I were dead, you of all people had the least right to step in! Imprisoning a gold-ranked knight and forging his order to take over his forces and attack the capital; sealing the dominion's entrances; cutting off supply to our forces on the front lines; and burying Lysecott's crimes... Is this what a loyal man would do? If it is, then I want nothing of this loyalty! This is the loyalty of a scoundrel, the loyalty of a traitor!

"Take them away. I don't want to soil my eyes with their visages. I will personally announce your crimes before I execute you!" ordered Lorist coldly. He watched on as the guards took the traitors away.

Glacia walked over.

"I'm sorry, Locke. I didn't understand what the brat was doing. I would've stopped him if I did. Are you really going to kill him? He's your eldest--"

"The law is the law. Princes and paupers are punished the same!"

Various Matters

Charade and Spiel rushed back to Ragebear a day later. Lorist felt a heavy burden lift from his shoulders when he saw them. He instantly let Charade, Spiel, and Kedan deal with the aftermath. Punishing Hansk and the traitors wasn't the highest priority at the moment. The highest priority was dealing with settling the hundreds of thousands of refugees in Winston.

Lorist rushed to the artillery range in the mountains with Reidy. It was the greatest insurance of their future and had to be set back on track. Howard had already taken up his post. He told Lorist that, so far, 342 artillerymen had recovered and rejoined the unit, which brought their functional size up to about 1300. A hundred were crippled and could never return even after they healed though. A full 1563 men died during the blademasters' attack and most of the unit's top artillerymen were among that number.

Lorist went to check on the brigade's former commander, Major Jim. His injuries had more or less recovered. He could sit and tell Lorist about his experiences, at least. He was now convinced, more than ever, that the cannons were the single greatest threat to blademasters. However, they complicated to operate and they hard to move.

When the blademasters attacked during the day, he lined up 46 cannons and fired a volley which broke the attackers. He didn't think the rest would attack again that night. He could do nothing once they were up close. Three thousand men faced the blademasters, but it was a complete slaughter. Paulobins leapt into the fray with a barrel of gunpowder and a torch. He blew himself up to take a few of the enemy with him. They couldn't find even a scrap of his flesh or armour to bury. The rest of the men also grabbed barrels of gunpowder and dozens blew themselves up as the blademasters got close. Another blademaster fell, and the rest retreated cursing the insane bastards as they let. Tears covered Jim's face as he described the scene. Lorist listened to him solemnly. All he could do was console the man. After telling him to get some rest, Lorist left.

In stark contrast to the two commanders, Professor Balbo and his wife who were hard at work in the research facility. Jim moved them to a safe location before the blademasters came to attack. Though the facility was flipped over, Balbo was unharmed.

Balbo introduced his latest breakthroughs as soon as Lorist arrived. He had successfully made the gunpowder into pellets. Though Lorist had only casually brought it up, Balbo managed to make it after years of work. It wasn't a small breakthrough either. It let the cannons fire with far greater power, or achieve the same power for much less gunpowder. He was currently working on how to dissipate the heat build-up from constant firing. He was just about to meet the two other masters for another consult in that regard, in fact.

His other great breakthrough was a new saltpeter harvesting technique. Lorist was convinced this, more than almost any other discovery, was the man's greatest achievement. Grindia wasn't Earth and the chemical principles of this universe were slightly different. On Earth, gunpowder was mainly made of one part sulfur, two parts nitrate or saltpeter, and three parts coal. The mixture added to some other ingredients produced standard black powder. But on Grindia, the recipe had one more part powdered fire crystal to react the way it did on Earth.

It was too bad Lorist had been just a workshop owner. Chemistry and physics weren't his strong suits. Though he had some basic knowledge, Grindia's laws were rather different from those of his former world, so the knowledge he had wasn't of much help.

On the continent there were two key factors that got in the way of his dream to make firearms. The first was the material. Grandmaster Sid's refinery still relied on ancient metallurgical methods to refine steel. Though he provided the man with the idea of water-powered machines that greatly increased House Norton's production efficiency, it was still far from what was necessary to produce the right materials required for firearms production. Before they could mold metal like liquid, the firearms from Lorist's world were still a pipe dream.

The second factor was the lack of saltpeter required to synthesize gunpowder. It was said that the dwarven kingdom had an underground saltpeter mine already running out. The dwarves considered the material very valuable. Lorist used nitrate in the soil to make what gunpowder he had. The biggest obstacle was the limited supply of gunpowder.

Lorist also had rather different experiences on Earth and Grindia. For instance, making gunpowder into pellets was easy on Earth. The powder only had to be wetted, shaped into pellets, and dried. However, the same process produced smoke-emitting powders on Grindia rather than gunpowder. Balbo thought the process destroyed the gunpowder's explosive effect. It took him three years to find a work-around.

Using gunpowder pellets not only raised its quality and increased its power, it also decreased the amount of saltpeter needed. At the same time, over his long years of research, Balbo found the ideal method of producing nitrate, doubling the yield. House Norton's gunpowder stores could now finally be stocked properly.

Lorist was sad and angry at the brigade's losses, but Balbo's good news lifted his mood considerably. He made Balbo a viscount on the spot. Balbo was pumped as he no longer had to act humbly around Sid since they were now all viscount.

Lorist loitered around the facility for ten days before going to Sid's refinery and staying there for half a month to optimize the production process and arranging for the construction of another batch of cannons before he returned to Ragebear.

He arrived back in the city on the 7th of the 10th. Sylvia, his concubines, and his children had returned to Ragebear at the end of the 9th. They welcomed him warmly. Everything would have been perfect if the slow-witted Arriotoli had not bragged about her latest pregnancy in her latest communique.

Sylvia, being the jealous vixen she was when it came to Lorist, subjected Lorist to a thorough inquisition. It didn't help that his other concubines demanded fair treatment. Dilianna was completely unwilling to see someone not even recognized as a concubine have more children than her. It took Lorist several days to escape.

His three subordinates were ready with their reports when he got out. Each stared at him with a different expression. Charade appeared troubled, Spiel looked like he'd just walked through a field of flowers, and Kedan was completely stoic.

Charade was up first. He had completely the planning for the migrant settlement and was ready to begin implementing everything. Shadekampf and Camorra had already moved the migrants to their final destinations and they would be set by the 11th month. Once they were settled, the region's population would officially be over 3 million and all their goals would have been achieved. Charade was adamant that, at least for the time being, they not bring in anymore people; the natural population growth from those already present could take care of any future needs.

Mass immigration was not a sustainable model of population growth, least of all when it was done forcibly. It made for an unstable and volatile population and fundamentally changed the values and loyalties of the peasantry. It was also a pain in the neck to manage. Just looking at Charade was enough to convince Lorist. The poor man looked two decades older than he was. Lorist thanked him for his hard work and told him to take a long vacation. Shadekampf could handle things from here.

The final topic was reorganizing the military. Charade was put in charge of the new year's celebration for the foreseeable future. This upcoming one would be the first since Lorist's disappearance and was bound to be the grandest yet.

Spiel was next. It turned out his jubilance was because of the wealth the legions brought with their return. They had swept several provinces during their campaign and had brought back six million gold Fordes' worth of wealth. And this was before they were untethered from Lorist. The legions went haywire after Lorist vanished. They cleaned out five more provinces. Loze and Josk knew Lorist would be furious at their disobedience, so they were careful to bring back even every shiny stone they found. In total, they brought back 15 million gold, previous artwork, decorations, wares, jewels, and other valuables included. This was the second most profitable campaign in the house's history, only surpassed by the Hanayabarta campaign.

Lorist immediately got to work getting rid of his money like he was allergic to it.

The house had done nothing but fight for several years now. They needed rest. He decided to give everyone a fat bonus and a long vacation. Two million was gone immediately. Another million vanished into the research projects in the mountains and the pensions for the losses suffered there.

Spiel's wailed internally. His eternal crusade against the devil had not ended. He finally thought he'd won a small reprieve, a small victory, only to have the beast rear its head again. Ah, if only he could shoo it back off to the battlefield. It just kept bleeding money. At least when it was off on campaign it bled everyone else dry and wasn't his problem, but now that it had returned he had to fight again. Please, please, someone piss the devil off again!

Kedan was the last to report. He was in charge of the trials. He brought out the folder. The first row's names had yet to be judged. Their judgements were up to Lorist. First on the list was Lysecott. He was Lorist's eldest son, so Kedan didn't feel he had the right to judge. Lorist just asked what kind of punishment a peasant would get for such a crime. The answer was simple: death by beheading or hanging.

"Alright then. I said this before, but everyone will suffer the same fate for the same crime. He'll be hung then. I would kill him ten times in ten different ways if I had the choice. Letting himself be made a puppet is the worst shame he could have brought on himself and, by extension, to the house. His cruelty and lack of self-control are also unacceptable. If he didn't have such a rotten personality, and if he hadn't done those horrible deeds, I would have forgiven him. He would never have become my heir, but he would at least be able to live a normal life as a commoner or low level family official. But I will not suffer him to live and continue to stain our name, even if he's already been stripped of it."

Lorist filled his son's fate in personally. The kid was literally condemned by his father's hand. He didn't love the kid, he barely even knew him, but they were blood relatives and this came about because of his own shortcomings as a man and his failure as a father, so it was only right that he be the one to correct it. The memory of the first time he held his son came back to him and he couldn't stop the tears from rolling down his cheeks.

The fate of his erstwhile son and his role in bringing it about, both in terms of making the judgement that sent him to his death and letting it get to the point where this judgement was necessary, weighed heavy on his heart. Since this was his son's fate, he would not let those who also played a part in it get off any lighter. Hansk was stripped of his title and all his entire family's, all 17's, heads would roll along with his. Lysecott's personal guards would be hanged as well, their families would be spared but exiled to Hanayabarta. Every official and officer who openly supported Lysecott and his rebellion, about 300, and their families would suffer the same fate as his guards. The rest would be tried for whatever offences they committed during the rebellion, like robbery or murder. Those innocent of such crimes would be moved out of Lorist's demesne to Wild Husbandry, and those who served time for their offences would join them once their time was done. The judgements were to be announced publicly, ten thousand in all. It was a huge political shift in the house.

"As for the sentry legion's fate… Put them back to work for now. We'll deal with them when we do the restructuring."

Human Resources

Lorist didn't attend the execution. He shut himself in his study, turning away all audience requests. Charade and the other officials understood how he felt and made sure not to bother him. Sylvia couldn't hold back any longer and went to visit him that evening. She found him sitting in his chair, facing the window, watching the moon quietly as tears rolled down his face. This was the largest single-event execution the house had ever carried out. They hanged and beheaded 349 people in one go. Lysecott, the king-endorsed heir, was also hung from the gallows. Thousands more were exiled from Lorist's demesne.

Unsurprisingly, it sent waves across the entire kingdom. Outsiders considered it excessive for a bloodless revolt put down without incident. The rebels neither killed nor tortured anyone. Lorist looked like the tyrant by contrast. Especially on the matter of his son. Lysecott may be a legitimized bastard, but he was still the duke's son. His crimes were made public, but they were nothing untoward for nobles. No one in the nobility considered it something worth an execution. Even the strictest of nobles usually only demanded an apology and some form of compensation. Lorist had reacted way to excessively.

The other thing that brought up big discussions, was the fact that, under false impressions or not, the boy had the king's endorsement -- sealed decree and all. How it was obtained was irrelevant. Custom and norms dictated that Lorist accept it, or at the very least find a way of dealing with his son that wasn't a clear disregard of the royal decree. Instead, the duke just hanged his son. He acted like the decree didn't exist. His status as the country's only swordsaint protected him from public criticism, however.

Only the duke's inner circle knew the reason for his fury. Hansk's rebellion destroyed years of his hard work, especially where his cannons were concerned. Only the few that had seen them in action knew how much of a setback this was. The rebel had indeed sought his own death. When Kedan brought him his last meal, the old man cursed his lord for being blind to his loyalty and ignoring his advice. He cursed the house a fall from grace and a descent into ruin, proclaiming that he would laugh at the fools from beyond the grave.

Kedan watched on silently. He didn't speak until the old man was done with his food.

"Hansk, you've been blinded by power. Your talents weren't enough. I understand what you want. You want to be the next Gleis and control almost everything in the house. You would have been, too, if the house was still just a backwater barony, but it's not. His Grace has a full provinces and the equivalent of a second as his demesne, and two more under his jurisdiction.

"Lord Norton is the one that led us to the glory we have today. You just had to follow him obediently and serve him loyally. You're delusional if you think you can compare to Gleis. It's too bad your delusion is now your end. Why do you still pretend like this is out of loyalty?"

Kedan left as Hansk slumped. The man knew Kedan was right. Gleis had been in charge of everything, baron in all but name, until Lorist returned. Lorist's father couldn't be bothered with the small things so he left everything to Gleis. All he did was hunt magical beasts and barbarians. Hansk wanted to be the same for Lorist. He wanted the kid to go off hunting beasts and barbarians and leave him in command of everything. Had the new lord been anyone but Lorist, this would have been the case, but Lorist was different.

Hansk could not compare to any of the new officials, the only reason he and the rest of the old guard hadn't been forsaken already was because Lorist didn't want to step on Gleis' wishes. In his resentment he didn't work hard and even split the house between factions. He had undone the trust Lorist had in him himself. Lorist didn't give him special treatment, despite technically being the most senior servant, he was passed over for promotion and it took him years more to be enfeoffed than the newcomers. Rather than get his act together, he blamed everything on Lorist and the greenhorns and even started openly disobeying and lecturing his lord.

Some things could be tolerated, but this disrespect was not one. He had brought about his own downfall. If only he'd obediently reflected for a few years in his fief, but, instead, he returned to the bastide and fanned the flames of insurrection in his lord's son.

He'd dreamt of splitting the house's ancestral homelands off from the greater dominion and governing it under Lysecott, but dreams were far-fetched and reality cruel. His forces surrendered without even complaining when Lorist returned. They'd let the core of their plan, Lysecott, be captured. If they had kept him out of Lorist's reach, then even if the rebellion failed, they could still return with the heir and the decree when the house was weak and push their claim. But with him captured, there was no way out. They were tried for treason, heir included, and were now going to be executed.

His greatest mistake was underestimating how much control Lorist had over his lands. He now understood that the rebellion was only allowed to happen so Lorist had an excuse to get rid of him and everyone in his faction.

Three days after the execution, Baron Kriston rushed to Lorist's study. Lorist was back to normal, save the gloom in his forehead. He held a scroll containing Kriston's personal information.

"Please have a seat, Kriston. You have done well for several years now as security chief. You've formed multiple constabularies and organized the drafting of laws and regulations, with appropriate punishment for crimes. You've even been given a fief."

Kriston rose the moment his toosh touched the cushion and bowed.

"I'm only doing my duty. I do not deserve your praise."

"I'll get straight to the point. I summoned you because I have a new job for you. Furybear, my intelligence service, is being broken up into two smaller departments. Each will focus on a particular domain of security, one internal, the other external. The former I'll call the Department of Internal Affairs. It will be in charge of counter espionage, counter insurgency and maintain a stable, peaceful internal environment. Howard recommended you for the position of Head of Department. Any thoughts?"

Kriston's mouth dropped. He paid great attention to detail, and was aware of the two's relationship. So this was why the lord had sent a messenger directly to his castle to summon him.

"I am willing to serve you unreservedly, You Grace. I give you my word."

"Very well. I am happy you're up to the task. You have three days. Have Tarkel give you a crash course. I expect a report on my desk by sundown on the third day with your thoughts on how to structure the department and a complete preliminary budget."

"As you will, Your Grace."

Belnick entered the room shortly after Kriston left. The old white-haired man shuffled in and knelt as soon as he was through the doorway.

"This whole debacle is my fault, Your Grace. I beg for your punishment."

Lorist hurriedly pulled back on his feet and consoled him. The man had only been captured because he had been too trusting. Belnick was one of the house's oldest and longest-serving gold-ranked knights. His greatest claim to fame was facing a bear to save Lorist's younger brother when he was just a three-star silver rank. His efforts, unfortunately, were for naught. The young lord died soon after of the wounds from his fall from his horse. The fight injured him severely and a plot by the denizens of Wildnorth to poison him saw him bedridden for three years.

He only learned what was going on when Lorist informed him. Not only had his lord saved his life, he'd even given him the manual that let him finally break through into the gold rank. His loyalty was above reproach, which was why he was given command of a legion and stationed in the house's home territory.

His origin was his downfall during the rebellion. Being from the bastide as well, he didn't want to offend Hansk, so he went to the bastide at the latter's invitation and was captured. He would have been executed if Hansk did not believe he would eventually come round and join his side. Belnick could not contain his shame at being poisoned twice in his life.

Though Lorist spent lots of effort on consoling him, he wouldn't accept it. He had to be held accountable for his failures. Frustrated, Lorist relieved him of his command and fined him two years' bonus and salary. He transferred him to the three main legions. Belnick was only willing to leave after he heard he had a chance to go to the battlefield.

Heavy Military Reorganization

"The analogy of the 'chain of command' is completely wrong. A proper command structure is set up not as a chain, but as a net. When a strand in a net breaks, the strands running perpendicular to it keep it from unravelling while the strands running parallel to it take up the slack. The chain breaks the moment any single link fails. The net is as strong as the sum of its strands, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link." ~ Norton Basil, military theorist and historian

Lorist decided to reorganize his military yet again. He'd learned his lesson from the rebellion. This time he'd completely separate the military and administrative branches of the house. The only forces that had been separate from the administration thus far were the three legions and the Northsea fleet which could and would only move by Lorist's command. The rest of the house's forces, the sentry legions, the constabularies, and the other guard forces not associated with a legion, could be commanded by any household official of appropriate rank. Technically even Spiel, who was as far removed from a military commander as could be, could order any of the forces to do anything.

This was, as far as institutional structure was concerned, why the rebels could so quickly and so easily take over the forces within the Northlands. Take the local sentry legion, for example. It recruited almost exclusively from the house's captives. Since the legion worked almost more as a general labour force than a military unit per se, it was only natural for it to be closely entangled with the local administrations. It was neither uncommon, nor untoward for the legion to dispatch units to help administrative officials.

Hansk had asked for help with suppressing the mountain barbarian revolt during his final months as a legitimate household official, and Spiel had also asked for help on occasion with transporting spoils of war. Even Charade had, at times, mobilized the Ragebear Knights.

Lorist's plan now was to have dedicated and independent bureaucracies to deal with his military and administration. The department that was to handle the military would deal with everything related to it, from logistics to recruitment to compensation and deployment. Officials could only be part of one of the two bureaus and only officials from the military bureau could command forces.

Lorist's biggest issue was what to call these two new institutions. Maybe he could call it the military department, or perhaps the bureau of military administration? The People's Liberation Army? Or maybe the Self Defence Force? No, they all sounded to cringey. A severe headache pending, he decided to put the naming aside for now.

Lorist didn't have an issue finding people to head this new institution. Potterfang and Malek were the two most obvious choices. Putting either in charge of the institution was really no different from making them his knight commander. They would be answerable only to him and had authority over everyone else in the institution.

Charade had been Chief knight for over a decade now, but everyone knew he was not the most suited for the title. Charade's strength lay in his administrative capabilities to begin with. He was the only one to have not made a breakthrough in the last seven years and was the weakest of his peers in his rank. His father-in-law, being a blademaster, was not very happy this abysmal state of affairs.

If the position only needed combat ability, then Loze would be the obvious choice. His nickname, 'Fiercetiger', was indeed very apt. He stood above all the other knights -- whether it be as a general or a warrior. His approach to combat was simple, almost thuggish, he kept attacking like a crazed madman until his enemy collapsed. He was currently on the edge of becoming a blademaster and no one would be surprised if he announced a breakthrough in the next three years.

Unfortunately for Loze, the position required more than personal combat ability or general military leadership. He would no longer be the commander of a legion, but would stand at the head of a bureaucracy. He had to win people over with charm, not just brute force. In this regard, few could not best him. Loze was a proud, stubborn, and arrogant man. He didn't listen to anyone besides Lorist and a few close friends. Even Charade, as his superior, could not get him to do anything. He was the penultimate medieval warrior, fantastic at combat, to a fault, but horrible at everything else. Not only did he have a completely unlikable character, he was a drunkard and a lecher. If he was measured by any metric besides his combat ability, his uprightness as a man would be in doubt. Well, even if none of this was an issue, even if he were the perfect candidate, his recent insubordination meant he could not be trusted with overall command of the military.

Besides, Lorist did not think Loze would want the position, anyway. He was made for the battlefield, he would never be able to stomach the idea of sitting in an office thousands of kilometers away from the front line. Even if there were no battles to be fought, Lorist couldn't picture him sitting behind a desk and signing paperwork.

Potterfang one of the other options. He was the only knight able to compete with Loze in the arena. He was Loze's antithesis when it came to their combat style. If Loze was a thug, then Potterfang was a turtle. Make no mistake, he stood no chance of winning a fight against Loze, but Loze also stood no chance of winning a fight against him. While Potterfang had no strikes that could take Loze down, Loze had no strikes that could break his defence. All the fights they'd fought over the years also went the same way. Loze would attack furious and Potterfang would just defend until Loze either got exhausted or became completely furious with frustration and gave up.

The general defined the army. Tigersoar, which Loze commanded, was a ferocious beast on the battlefield. They specialized in offensive operations. Firmrock, on the other hand, under Potterfang's command, could hold any enemy force no matter how big, at bay. Tigersoar was Lorist's spear -- or, more aptly, his bludgeon -- and Firmrock was his shield.

Making Potterfang would be the obvious conclusion, and certainly the one with which the rest of the military would be most happy, if not for Malek. Lorist was of the opinion that Malek was the best candidate for the job. Lorist biggest concern with Potterfang was that he was too timid. He would likely try to play the good guy and would consequently be unable to make cold decisions. Malek, had no such inclinations.

He was the most feared night under Lorist's command. Some even questioned if he could even feel anything. He could not only make tough, impartial judgements, but he could enforce them no matter who the victim was. Even Loze could not escape him. He was also a very decisive man, and unwavering loyal to Lorist, almost to a fault. As far as Lorist was concerned, there just was no competition. The only issue was that Malek didn't have the greatest reputation, which wasn't surprising. Not many could like the stoic. He had few friends, and they were mostly officials of similar rank with whom he'd served for years.

Lorist would face stiff resistance if he tried to appoint him to the office. In the end he decided to compromise. He'd appoint both Potterfang and Malek to the position. Potterfang would be the head of whatever the military ended up being called, and Malek would be his second-in-command. Potterfang would be the military's face, whilst Malek would be the one doing all the actual work.

Besides preserving the military's integrity, Lorist also wanted to separate his government to bring down its overhead. The near constant war since his ascension had forced him to build a massive military, but now that the house was in a stable position and unlikely to expand in the near future, it could not afford to maintain such an extravagant force, much less justify the expense. Lorist could not afford to spend two thirds of his annual income on the military.

Hansk's rebellion was a painful wake-up call. The five sentry legions stood at 200 thousand men and manned his lands' defenses. They were reserve forces for all intents and purposes, they never saw combat, nor would they ever unless the house was put in a dire position. Certainly they didn't need to enjoy the same benefits as his front-line troops? In the past he had used these reserves as a way to quickly absorb the immigrants, but now that he would not see large force migrations for some time, he had no need of this bloated setup.

And Hansk's rebellion showed him how unreliable the setup was, anyway. The men in the reserves served there out of a pragmatic understanding of their need for money, not out of any sense of loyalty to him. Then again, this should be obvious, would Lorist serve a lord that had just ripped him and his family away from his ancestral homeland, marched them across the continent and told him that he now had to live here and serve him and that he didn't have a choice in the matter, loyally? Of course not. If the Auguslo had done this to him, he would have sworn on his ancestors and honour as a man that he would one day kill him. At the very least he would have no qualms joining a rebellion or in some other way betraying the man.

Since the reserve were only doing the job for the money, and had no sense of loyalty to him, they followed orders without questioning whether they were appropriate or not or whether they came from the right people. As long as their pay would be handed over as always, they didn't care. In that case there was no need to pay them any more than was necessary.

Lorist wrote down the names of the forces he considered part of the active military. 'Firmrock', 'Tigersoar', 'Jaeger', 'Northsea', 'Ragebear', and 'artillery brigade' were on the list. The rest were at best reserves. He decided to form a single legion out of the five current sentry legions which would join the others as active forces. The men not put in this new legion would be transferred to the local towns guard.

Each of the legions would be 48 thousand strong; Northsea was 12 thousand strong; and Ragebear 15 thousand strong. Lorist's personal guard had three thousand members, and the artillery had another three thousand. With this the military would stand at only 220 thousand. Until now no legion had less than 60 thousand men, but there was no need for such a bloated military. Years of experience had taught him why no legion was bigger than 50 thousand.

Most militaries actually only had 10 to 12 thousand men in a division. A few divisions would be groups together into a legion, which was what a general commanded. While his legions had 60 thousand men, his generals would only ever deploy about 40 thousand at a time, no more than a standard foreign legion. The rest stood in reserve. He had a force which looked impressive, but was no bigger than a small legion in effective size on the battlefield.

What, then, was the point to the extra 15 to 20 thousand troops? They were an extra expense that clearly had no effect on the actual combat strength of the legion in any given engagement. They were only a further financial, logistical, and command burden which slowed the legions down and meant that they couldn't respond as rapidly and effectively as their enemies. It wasn't, then, just about having the bigger force, but having a force of the right size that is used effectively.

Lorist cut one division out of each legion. The new legions were no different in size from other kingdom's legions. He could do this so easily now because none of the legions were at full strength after their last campaign. Had they been fully staffed, he would be trouble with what to do with the troops he removed, but, as things stood now, even with the cuts the legions would likely still need to recruit men to fill in their shortages.

With this matter dealt with, Lorist moved on to appointing new officers. Potterfang would stay in command of Firmrock; while he was the entire institution's head in name, it wouldn't add anything to his workload, so he could stay on as a field commander. Malek had an actual job to do, so his old position needed filling. Lorist put Belnick's name in the spot. It would be a demotion from general to legion sergeant-major and put him in a position that would see combat if they got involved in another war.

The commanders of Firmrock's third and fourth divisions were old schoolmates of Lorist, Wilson and Sybra. Wilson had asked for a leave of absence to focus on his training so he could break through to the gold rank. Lorist transferred the third sentry legion's general over to fill his command. It was technically both a demotion and not. While his rank dropped from general to colonel, he was also being moved from a reserve legion to an active force, so it balanced out. And, since his legion was going to be scrapped anyway, he couldn't really complain since this was the only way he could keep his job. Lorist decided to give him a fief, just to be on the safe side.

Tigersoar was the legion that would sea the smallest shuffle. Loze, Messen, Dulles and Eid Modrak all remained in their positions as commanders of the first through fourth divisions in order.

Jaeger would see the biggest changes in leadership, Colonel Freiyar, currently commander of the legion's fourth division, would be promoted to general and put in command of the entire legion. Josk would take his place as commander of the fourth division with a corresponding demotion to colonel for his disobedience. Loze and his legion were justified in returning to the frontline since they were responsible for moving the migrants and had to go back for the rest, but Josk had no reason, and no permission, to move. Lorist was already being very soft by demoting him just one rank. He could have stripped him of all command authority entirely if he wanted.

Besides being general of the army, Freiyar also took over command of the first division, Yuriy, Josk, and Waxima had command of the second through fourth divisions. However, Waxima had also submitted a request for a leave of absence for training. Rather than fill his spot himself, Lorist decided to leave it to them to decide.

The men and commanders from the now defunct sentry legions that weren't moved into the active units, were moved out of the military entirely and put into what was effectively civil law enforcement. They either fill in for the positions cleared in the constabulary by the rebellion, or joined town guards and other garrison forces. Lorist promoted Els to general and put him in command of the sole sentry legion, which he planned to make an all-rounder. Els would also command the legion's first division. Ovidis had command of the second division, Pajik would be put in command of the third, and the fourth would be filled at some point in the future. With the current leadership setup each legion had three gold-ranked knights in its senior most positions, so they wouldn't lose out to any enemy force.

Senbaud would stay on as Admiral and have command of Northsea and Terman stayed with Ragebear. Ragebear's function and position in the command structure was changed, however. They were no longer just a knight brigade, instead they were made effectively the military police and put under the direct command of whatever the institution would be named in the future. They would answer to Malek and Potterfang only, and to Potterfang only in his capacity as the institution's head, not as general of his legion.

Reidy stayed on as the captain of Lorist's personal guard, with the rank of major. As Sergeant-major Park had taken a leave of absence to focus on training for a year now, he was fortunate enough to not be embroiled in the rebellion. He had now successfully broke through and would return to his post at the end of the year. Howard was given command of the artillery brigade and was promoted to major. Sergeant-major Jim wanted to take a leave of absence once he recovered to focus on training as well.

As the sun grew lazy in the sky, Lorist finally finished the plans. Jinolio knocked on the door as Lorist stretched.

"Baron Kriston requests an audience."