"For one to be able to trade successfully and survive the ruthless world of business where hostile companies send bandits and mercenaries after you, a skilled set of guards is required."
"And none are more skilled than those from Sigismond's Security Solutions."
"As each man is as skilled as two elite soldiers and has made many wonder…."
"Are they really a bunch of ex-soldiers trying to make a living, or are they supported and serving someone else."
"For men this skilled…."
"Do not just appear out of thin air."
Advor Hearttide, a trader and businessman in Dynasties Online.
….
The next day, the sun's rays of heat blessed the land, but a chilly wind of late winter blew through the camp as only the northern mountain peaks stopped the snow from the northeast from covering Nathia as the Pelican Guards discussed the various options that they were given by Railius covered in furs to keep themselves warm in this cold time of year.
"What do you want to do, John?"
A soldier said to his friend both were getting older, in their early forties and had served House Aurellion since the battle of Brunag, surviving as one of the 30 survivors of the 300 men that accompanied Leon from the Chavarian capital.
"I'm thinking of retiring and taking up farming, or when I can, managing one of the taverns the young master plans to set up. It will be nice to get away from the constant battles for once. What about you, Lucian?"
John replied as his gaze became distant, and he was momentarily caught up in the nostalgia thinking of his long military career, from making friends in training to seeing them die one by one on the battlefield as he wept over their lifeless corpses. Slowly, his circle of friends got smaller and smaller until only he and Lucian were left. However, even at their age, they still meticulously looked after their weapons as they ground whetstones against the edges of their swords to keep them razor-sharp and ready for action at a moment's notice.
"Did it ever occur to you to leave House Aurellion? The old lord is dead, and now our fates seem bound to a child with little experience."
Lucian said calmly while he had never considered it himself before it was offered. Even if he didn't see what his young master was capable of during the escape from Chavaria, he still would have stayed loyal for so strong were the bonds forged on the battlefield that not even the accusation of treason could break them.
"No, it did not. House Aurellion has done well by us looking out for our families even now; they are trying their best to give their loyal subjects a living despite having little to their name."
"Anyway, the debt I owe the old lord is more than just him giving me a good livelihood over the last few years. I can't remember how many times he saved me in battle. If only for that, I want to keep his son safe, and he appears to be talented too. Who knows, maybe our sons will become barons or part of the lower nobility in the future."
John replied as he finished sharpening his sword and heard the rumbling of horse hooves get closer and closer to the camp. He was initially on guard and skilfully swung his blade back and forth, but when he saw them and their armour, he knew it was no one to be worried about and sheathed his steel.
"That will be the next set of our brothers from Chavaria. We number what 300 now?"
Lucian sighed as he got up and went over to meet them, his friend joining him as they prepared to help the tired troops set up their tents. While they were not close friends, each of the Pelican Guards was bound by a unique collective sense of honour and loyalty that elites and recruits alike use to form close bonds with each other.
"Yes, we are ordered to come in groups of a hundred over time to prevent too much suspicion from falling on us. That is why the higher-ups want us to organise and find jobs soon, as it won't be long till we are noticed to have so many armed men together with no apparent affiliation to anyone would worry even the most powerful of lords."
"By the way, you never told me your plan."
John asked, interested in what path his friend would take, though he could not see him wanting to settle down like he did, even with a wife and child due to his adventuring spirit.
"I've been a soldier all my life and killed too many to put down my sword now. It's all I know. I'll go join that security company thing as I think it will be quite profitable and give my family a good life."
Lucian said decisively, wanting to continue doing the profession he had done for his entire life, and he also suspected he would make the most from it. After all, being a soldier in the Aurellion army was far better than being a farmer, not only because of their salary in the past but also because they could get farmland and lower taxes.
This was instituted in the old Aurellion marquisate to tie the army's loyalty to the noble house. Unfortunately, against overwhelming odds of over 10/1, only the most loyal soldiers of the house, the Pelican Guards, dared to stand up for their lord, as the others did not want to have them and their families executed and enslaved by Chavaria once they were defeated in battle.
After all, it was not them that the emperor wanted to deal with but their lord, so as long as they stayed out of this conflict, nothing would happen to them. If they had even a slight chance of victory, they would have stood by House Aurellion to the end, but fighting against 200,000 men in the imperial army plus the surrounding nobles with 10,000 men was impossible with their lord dead as a result, the emperor had no issues when he wanted to install a new Marquis of Nalora.
"Fair enough. Good luck, and don't get stabbed! You've got a reputation to uphold! Everyone else from our batch of recruits had died in their service to the empire and the lord."
John said cheerfully as they both went to report their decision to Baron Malwin, the only landed noble and civil servant to stay loyal to their lord and the man in charge of taking this critical census.
The Baron had a concentrated expression plastered on his face while he worked, which was as hard and ice cold as the frost and ice that covered the vibrant Nathia plains as he sat near a burning brazier. The licks of fire radiated heat, keeping him warm and allowing him to work in the open as the nobleman furiously scribbled on the parchment on the small table before him.
It took the entire day for him to do the census the lord had asked for, giving the Pelican Guards enough time to decide before writing their decision down. But when he saw Railius again getting beaten down by Leon in the training ground onto the frost-covered dews below, he felt sympathy for his young lord, who would not have an easy time despite his noble birth.
He could see the boy shivering as he slowly got up, the winter's biting cold seeping into his bones, but his instructor seemed not to care. Having finished his final report, he picked it up and went over to save the young lord from his training.
Watching Railius get disarmed yet again, a regular occurrence over the last few days, the baron finally made it over to their training ground. After dealing with Railius, Leon made quick work of Jordis as the two had the impossible task of working together to get even one touch on the grandmaster of loyalty, only to be ruthlessly beaten down every time.
"My lord, Grand Commander."
The baron said respectfully, first bowing to Railius, the young lord, and then to the regent.
"Malwin, what's up were a little busy here at the moment."
Leon said as Railius got up once again, his training gambeson was soaked in mud and sweat as he looked pleadingly at the baron for him to have some way of having this tormenting training finish and allowing the small boy some rest.
"Grand Commander, I have finished the census and think it would be best to talk about it in the command tent with the young lord. These matters are urgent, after all."
The Baron said respectfully to Leon while winking at Railius, indicating that he had a plan to stop the Grand Commander, making the small boy let out an involuntary sigh of relief. This little interaction was not lost on the observant grandmaster, but he didn't mention anything or indicate that he knew, after all, if these two could form a strong bond, then their house would have gained another capable, loyal subordinate.
Seeing his young lord's state with mud caked all over his clothes, face and body, the ice that seemed to have surrounded his heart for the past few hours, ignoring any pleading or complaints from the small boy to stop as an enemy on the battlefield never gives things such as second chances and so you must have the grit to fight to the end, or you would end up as just another dead number on a casualty report.
Only someone who never gave up could survive on the battlefield using any and all means to survive the brutal medieval battles.
"Fine, we can stop here."
Leon said as if it were an afterthought, as he really needed to sort out the livelihood of their men and their families, as he was aware of how low they were on money and food.
"Darius!"
Leon called out, his loud voice resonating throughout the camp as everyone heard him calling for the skilled master fighter and commander of Pelican Guards.
Darius didn't take long to run over from his sparring session to the grand commander's side as he cupped his fists respectfully towards the regent of House Aurellion and its most powerful powerhouse.
"Grand Commander?"
The man asked respectfully with not a bruise in sight, unlike Railius and Jordis, whose young bodies were littered with them, making their white skin turn purple and brown from all the lumps and bruises that they had accumulated from their few days of 'training' which they saw as nothing more than a beatdown with Leon using them as punching bags to relief his anger.
"Here!"
Leon said as he threw a few silver coins at Darius
"After they have finished their cooldown stretches, take the young lord and my son to the bathhouse in town, then back to the command tent so we can have a meeting. They need to relax their muscles and clean themselves. They can also take a rest tomorrow, but…."
Leon said, pausing as an evil grin appeared on his face. He looked pointedly at Railius, as it was his young lord more than his son, who needed to hear his following words of warning.
"If any of you two try to go out of the camp on your day of rest, then I will drag you both back here for more training, as it would be obvious that you have spare energy for more hard training!"
"Do you understand?!"
Leon asked Railius in a firm voice, making it clear just how much of a favour he was doing for his young master and warning him not to take advantage of the regent's benevolence.
"Yes sir!"
Railius and Jordis shouted their military training coming through as they both stood at attention and then quickly went towards the horses so they could clean themselves after a hard day of training.
"Take 20 men, Darius, and make sure to bring him back safely."
"If you don't, you won't require your head anymore."
Leon said his manner was slightly threatening as he cared for the well-being of his lord more than his own life, even if circumstances made it appear otherwise. If someone saw what he was doing for training, they would wonder if he was trying to train or kill his young lord.
….
"Ahhh, that feels better."
Railius said, sighing in relief when he returned to the camp after a nice relaxing bath that soothed his tense muscles. It only took 30 minutes to ride from the camp to the nearest town, so 1 hour and a half later, The young lord of Aurellion was ready to meet with his subordinates to discuss their next steps after having a heavenly hot bath.
The tent was laid out a bit differently than before, as two tiny lines in front of Railius mimicked that of a traditional ancient Chinese court. One had Leon at the front, followed by Darius in one, and the other had Baron Malwin alone. One was obviously for military officials, while the other was for civilian ones.
"My lord, of the 300 men who have arrived, 50 of the older veterans have declared an interest in retiring from the army and taking up various positions once they are available, while the others have expressed an interest in joining the security company of course not everyone can join the security company forever, or all of our military forces would be unable to affiliate themselves with us as it is meant to be independent."
Baron Malwin reported to his lord as the only civil official it was his responsibility to report such matters to his lord.
"Darius, I'm going to ask a huge favour from you. I need you to lead the security company."
"Do you think you are up to the task?"
Railius asked in an authoritative as he had already decided who the face of the security company was going to be as he didn't want Leon to leave his side and needed a master-level fighter or above to lead it, or the company would have poor credibility.
There was a second reason, which is that Leon was his regent and would overrule him if he tried to assign anyone else to the task as Aldorus was currently in Plantaria, and the Grandmaster of Loyalty was unwilling to have himself away from Railius as the last time he spent a long time away from his beloved lord he died.
"My lord, I'll make this company renowned throughout the kingdom that merchants will beg to give them its protection."
Darius said with conviction, his eyes shining with determination to make the company prosperous enough to relieve his lord of some of his heavy burdens.
"Good. In that case, I hereby declare the formation of Sigismond's Security Solutions led by Darius. For now, you can take 150 Pelican Guards as the initial force to the duchy capital and look for work there. Once more of our men come, you can expand your operations."
"Sigismond will also be your alias in Nathia, as too many people know your real name, and we need to keep a low profile."
"Look at what other mercenary companies pay per man and start a little lower than that so you can attract customers. Once we have built up a bit of a reputation, we can push up our prices. We will be a premium service after all."
Railius said forming a company that would eventually protect many important people in the future and provide a vital source of funding and information that the cunning player would use to great effect to achieve his lofty ambitions.
"Malwin, take the 50 who want to retire and find them some work in the local area once we have enough money to either rent or buy some farmland, we can have them work there as once we have paid taxes, we can use the food we produce from these lands to help supply our men with food."
"Make sure to look for some taverns to buy or land to build one, as it would be best if we could use our own taverns as a base of operations for the security company."
Railius ordered before dismissing his tiny court once he gave out his orders and got acknowledgements from his subordinates about his orders. Seeing that Leon House Aurellion's regent did not contradict any of the little lords' orders, everyone eagerly went out to accomplish them.