This was a period of vigorous economic expansion. This expansion, in turn, played a major role in the many other transformations—social, political, and cultural—of the new age.
By 190 S.T. the population in most Kingdoms of Udoris was increasing after a century of peace. The bonds within the kingdoms tightened, and the "wheels of commerce" spun ever faster.
New commodities, many of them invented by members of the Sanctuary of Scrolls, enriched material life. Not only trade but also the production of goods increased as a result of new ways of organizing production.
Merchants, accumulated and manipulated capital in an unprecedented volume. Most historians locate this period as the maturing, or at least the beginning, of Eastern capitalism. Capital assumed a major role not only in economic structuring but also in political relations.
Culturally, new values—many of them associated with the end of the Great War and the Reformation—diffused through Udoris and changed the ways in which people acted and the perspectives by which they viewed themselves and the world.
But even as capitalism advanced from the east, the once-free peasants of Northern and western Udoris slipped further into serfdom. The apparent prosperity of the century gave way in its middle and later periods to a "general crisis" in many Udorian regions.
Politically, the new centralized states insisted on new levels of cultural conformity on the part of their subjects, for example, Aries refused to tolerate the major religious bodies, namely the Church of the Seven and the Church of the Twins, and forbids the use of the common tongue, Mogar, by its dissidents, isolating itself from the rest of the world. Understandably, historians have had difficulty defining the exact origins of this complex century in the course of Udorian development.
The century's economic expansion owed much to powerful changes that were already underway by the climax of the Great War. The later disasters radically transformed the structures of Udorian society—the ways by which it produced food and goods, distributed income, organized its society and viewed its dissidents
As a result of this revolution, organisations such as the Sanctuary of Scrolls and the Board of commerce could thrive leading to the development of game-changing elements such as the newly invented Gunpowder siege weapons which gave armies greater fighting power, hence their nations a greater sense of security.
By the end of the century, Udoris achieved what it never possessed over a century ago: an unprecedented technological leap, accompanied oddly by an extended period of peace and political stability.
Excerpt from Jonas Diane book on Udorian History- 'Our origins'
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It was the next day.
In his stone-walled room, Levi sat on his bed chewing on a loaf of rye bread with a cup of milk and an apple on his breakfast tray while he stared out the window watching squirrels darting about on a tree not far off from his window.
*Knock*
The serene quietness was broken by a light knock on the door.
"Come in." He said.
Given permission, Lancelot entered the room holding a parchment scroll sealed with wax.
Surprised to see the Viscount personally delivering a message, Levi set aside his food tray with his brow arched in a questioning expression.
From his memories, he inferred that whatever was sent must have been very important to have sir Lancelot personally deliver it.
"Young master, The Hera's sent a letter."
"Read it to me," Levi answered wiping away stray crumbs from the corner of his mouth. From the calmness on his face, it seemed the transmigrator had already been expecting this.
"House von Greifenberg... "
"Sorry, just tell me what it says. " Levi said, gesturing to Lancelot.
Although surprised by Levi's uncharacteristic impatience, he accounted it to the stress he must be under and didn't place much emphasis on this unusual behaviour.
Pausing for a few minutes, he read through the message before looking up with a despondent sigh.
"They want us to vacate the premises in three days or they would forcibly remove us."
"Uhmm, so an eviction notice... "
"Yes, I guess?" Lancelot sighed.
Aden's fiefdom was originally a part of the Redwater stronghold belonging to the neighbouring duke, Duke Josh Hera.
The iron mines in the fief were discovered by a hunter from the duke Hera's duchy a few years ago.
Although the veins were outside the duke's territory and it was illegal according to the kingdom laws to claim assets outside your territory, the allure of the veins was too great a temptation for the duke to resist.
Unable to let go of this wealth, duke Hera made bold moves to appropriate the veins for himself but there was a major issue obstructing his machinations.
The veins were simply too far away. Located around two days away on horseback from the duke's territory, it was unrealistic to open just a mine that far away.
To counter this the Duke used a large portion of his resources to construct a mining town right beside the veins and opened the mine to begin mining. About a hundred peasants and three hundred slaves were used as workforce and all were managed by a family of minor nobles, five knights and a hundred cavalry and infantrymen.
The ores mined weren't sold to Greystones because the Duke, Josh Hera wasn't stupid or bold enough to sell the ores he stole from the king, back to the king. Instead, he sold all his loot to the neighbouring kingdom, Quilton, managing to amass a reasonable amount of wealth.
But although the Duke managed to hide the operation for a few years, it was just too large to remain hidden for long.
The secret was finally exposed to the capital around the period that Aden was demoted from being the king's advisor.
While what Duke Hera did was a crime, it was a very common incident and since it wasn't forcibly snatched away from another noble the capital was lax with dealing with the Duke.
But though the capital was lax, they didn't plan on letting the duke go scot-free either.
The mining town, the lands around it, and about half of Duke Hera's workforce were transferred to Aden who had been 'banished' to guard the border for a reason nobody seems to remember.
After the land deeds were transferred, Aden withdrew from his property in Greystones, the capital with his most loyal subordinates and renamed the mining town and the lands around it Greenfields.
But now that The Heras are making such bold moves even if Levi had half a brain he could infer from their actions that...
One, the capital has already been lost,
Two, the Heras were among the traitors that switched sides and betrayed the King,
And three they still consider Greenfields their property.
Now that von Greifenbergs had lost the royal family's backing, Levi could guess the Hera's want the lands back before the kingdom is annexed.
Understanding everything Levi was still baffled.
'Why didn't they just attack straightforwardly? What's the point of warning me first?'
'Is there something else I still don't know?' He asked himself in doubt.
'Meh. Since they refused to take the initiative, I just have to bring the fight to them then.' He shrugged.
'I guess it's high time I paid the neighbours a visit.'
...
Later that day,
"Have you gone over the plans?" Levi asked the viscount. His expression looked dull but a cold light shone in his eyes.
"I have." Came Lancelot's reply.
"And how's what I asked you to prepare?"
"It's done." Replying, the viscount's expression turned slightly strange, somewhat fearful, remembering a very recent, 'experiment' carried out by the young master.
Hearing his reply Levi's smile gained a subtly sinister shade.
'You want to oppress me...?' He thought mockingly.
'A modern man?'
'Well then, since you all love playing with fire it's a must you get burnt.'