Baron Igalis took to his "new son" with an overflowing sense of motivation and love. Here was a man that a father could be proud of! -Or so his mind believed. For all of his remaining years, the generous old man guided the displaced farmer in the ways of land management, business negotiation, and aristocratic rule. The Baron was always kind to his servants and vassals, but Hamlon was shocked by the difference in lifestyle that "the lords" enjoyed, compared to "the peasants" that lived upon their lands. He never complained to his master, but he would always remember the disparity between the two groups.
After several years of hard work and lessons, the Baron and his wife were growing quite old and nearing the time to "join the goddess." Igalis urged Hamlon to marry soon and allow him to "see that his legacy was secure." Remembering the woes of his first wife – which he still never mentioned to anyone – he decided to choose a woman from a dutiful and honorable family.
When he had grown old himself and neared his time, Hamlon called his eldest son - Heron – to his side, and quietly revealed the truth of his past and how their family had come into their small share of power. Of course, the son was shocked and badly disturbed at how his father had abandoned one wife and deceived a Baron and his Lady – but the lesson of: "Always commit yourself to your convictions and choose your mate carefully" stuck with him and would become a lasting, unspoken creed for the men of his family.
Little can be told of Heron – the man led a remarkably un-remarkable life. He was born, raised, and later succeeded his father as Baron of Passeri and the Daphnes Wood. His lands were well cared for and his vassals treated with dignity and kindness. One other lesson that he retained well from his father was that the people themselves should be lifted up and their lives improved by the power the Baron held. So, for nearly forty years of his life, Heron gradually worked to build better homes, larger and more advanced workshops, and to improve the roads that crossed his land. It was not glorious work, but the people of Passeri came to adore Baron Heron and his family. Nearly every man, woman, and child in the region came to grieve over the man's body when he passed.
Duron was the second son of Heron – his elder brother having tragically passed from a fever at a young age. Born in the spring of the Great Kingdom 545, young Duron enjoyed a life that was rather different from that of other noble children. He was encouraged to run, play, and work beside the "common children" on his father's lands. If young Duron were cross with a friend and attempted to threaten him with his father's power or his own birthright, the boy was swiftly – and harshly – punished. "You are nothing more than any of them!" his father would shout, "Not until you have earned what I have! The goddess does not grant us authority and power to push aside and to dominate our fellow Hylians! We are here to cherish, protect, and to lift up the people of this land!"
In time, the boy would grow into a fine young man – well guided and molded into the form of a kind and dutiful Baron. In his twentieth year, just as his father began to discuss granting him limited control over portions of the barony, a small conflict broke out between the kingdom and a tribe of raiders in the Tabanthan Frontier to the West. Though Heron and his father Hamlon had never served with the army or been given formal training in swordsmanship, they had been instructed that it was a Baron's duty to provide protection for his people.
Abandoning his plans to have his son manage the western farmlands, Heron instead wrote to Lord Elrohir – the regional Lord of West-Central Hyrule, and asked that his son be taken as a military-apprentice and taught the ways of combat and defense. At first, the Lord politely resisted the request – Duron was too old to be taken as a squire – but when the raiders outmaneuvered the regional militia and sacked Satori village, he quickly reversed himself and accepted Duron into his regiment.
The "young lord" was not the most skilled soldier, but with a few weeks' training, he was able to make a passable demonstration of his swordsmanship and archery skills to his sergeants and the Lord. Elrohir made him Captain over a small reserve company and directed him to remain at the rear of the formation. Marching out of Carok in the summer of 565, the "West Battalion" of Hyrule spread themselves across the eastern reach of Tabantha and slowly moved westward, hunting for the raiders. After several weeks of fruitless searching, the enemy finally came to them.
The army was camped far to the west – "off the map" as Duron remembered later – with the most experienced units stationed upon their flanks and Duron's reserve at the center-rear. The raiders, riding swift mounts and unencumbered by the slow tactics of leg infantry, silently swept around the southern edge of Lord Elrohir's force and attacked his rear-guard during the night. Where other soldiers and commanders had grown tired and complacent at the "long, useless campaign", Captain Duron had always maintained the strictest discipline with his men and kept them in a constant state of readiness. With more sentries and lookouts posted than any other unit, Duron's men were able to spot the raiders as they prepared to charge and blew their horns as warning to the rest of the army.
The attack was merciless and intense. Though the Hylians outnumbered the raiders significantly, the enemy was highly skilled and swift. Throughout the night, the two forces attacked, countered, re-grouped, and attacked again. The other portions of Elrohir's force were thrown into chaos as it was obvious the enemy had been encountered, but in the darkness the other unit commanders could not see the signal flags that their lord would use to direct the army. Duron and his men would have to fight alone.
As dawn approached, the raiders gathered for a renewed charge and drove deeply into the Hylian formation. Captain Duron and Lord Elrohir – placed in the center of the formation for the greatest protection – were nearly overcome by the enemy. A half-dozen raiders leapt down from their horses and attempted to take the Lord as a hostage. Young Duron, in a remarkable act of selfless heroism, threw himself between the attackers and his master, and gallantly struggled to keep them at bay. Though he had been a soldier for scarcely two months, Duron managed to cut down three of his opponents before other elements of the Hylian Army were able to close in and save their lord. In the adrenalin of the moment, the young man had not noticed that he had been wounded several times – none were fatal of course, but he had "bled for his kingdom."
In the end, the Hylians were able to bend their own formation back upon itself and encircle the raiders with the growing light. Trapped and losing faith, the few that remained alive quickly threw down their weapons and galloped toward the thinnest lines – attempting to escape. A few managed to reach the hills of Tabantha and disappear, but most were slaughtered. With this, the conflict was over and the raiders would not attempt another campaign against the Hylians for several decades.
Captain Duron returned to his father's lands as something of a minor hero. Still wearing his plate armor, the young man now bore: The Crimson Collar – the award granted to those who had suffered wounds at the hands of the enemy while serving in the King's Army – and one Battle Stud upon his shoulder – a heavy iron rivet, beaten into the edge of the spaulder, to mark the number of significant battles a man had served in. Cheers and cries of glory welcomed the young lord as he passed over the countryside and on to his father's estate near Passeri.
As a gesture of his personal gratitude -and as a sign of how impressed he was with Duron's performance- Lord Elrohir expanded Heron's lands. Now the Southwestern portion of the Nima Plains and all of the Daphnes Wood, right up to the Hylian River, fell under his control. Duron also carried one more, precious gift: a writ of covenant – a personal letter from a Lord, granting a promise to accept a son of Duron as squire and knight-in-training.