The Lion of Britannia (A Code Geass SI) Chapter IV
Lt. General Jason von Eisenwald POV
August 2017 A.T.B
Britannian Imperial Army Camp, Cambodia
Jason could do nothing right now but wait for the Prince's arrival to formally hand over command to him. He hated the fact that he was right now waiting and sitting in his office twiddling his thumbs. But this did give him time to reflect on his current situation, something he didn't really have much time for in the midst of this war of conquest. Jason von Eisenwald was of Germano-Britannian descent and the von epithet in his name signified his noble background. He mentally scoffed when he thought of that. Though he was a Count, his name and noble status was practically nonexistent, as he was a commoner in all but name. Such was the state of his House which had fallen far from its ancient and glorious past. The House of Eisenwald while technically was of higher nobility, there were other lesser nobles and even Commoners with far greater wealth, social status, and reputation than his own. He hated this, as all his life was something he could never really escape from. When he first enrolled in the military academy he was mocked by the other nobles who looked down on him for his less status. Some openly laughed at him saying that he wasn't deserving of the von in his name.
Jason's face darkened when he thought of his life in the Academy as a cadet. The only reason he had joined the military was to gain some sort of status for his House so that he and his dear little brother Ruprecht wouldn't be thrown on the streets to starve. His house unlike most of the other Noveau Riche aristocrats, was of a far more older and distinguished lineage. His family gained prominence fighting for the Austrian Habsburgs who ruled the millennia old Holy Roman Empire. There his ancestors fought for the Kaiser against that wretch Napoleon who conquered Europe and placed it under his Iron Heel. His Revolutionary Republicanism destroyed the ancient traditions of the Old and Noble European Order, and put in place the corrupt and godless artificial construct that was the European Union. After Napoleon kicked the Habsburgs from their ancient seat of power, his ancestors fled with them to Russia from where they later served with the British forces under King George III. But Napoleon stunned the world again with the invasion of Britain where his accursed Revolutionaries in their bloodlust destroyed one of the last bastions of traditions and godliness in Europe. The once proud nation of Great Britain was destroyed with its King and remaining loyalist subjects fleeing to the Americas where the established the Hallowed Empire of Britannia or the Holy Britannian Empire as it is actually referred to. Of course the tale of the von Eisenwalds didn't end there, as they then joined with the remnants of the British state along with most of Europe's other aristocrats and loyalists fleeing the Revolutionary Inferno that had all but consumed Europe. From there they entered the service of Emperor Richard IV with Jason's ancestor Albrecht von Eisenwald attaining prominence in the army during the conquest of French Louisiana.
This was the apex of the House of Eisenwald as things would only go down for them here. While the Eisenwalds had enjoyed immense patronage and honors from Emperor Richard IV and his immediate successors, this prosperity that that they had enjoyed would not last. The other nobles in their own schemes for power, wealth, and status grew jealous and resentful of them. As a result as series of manufactured scandals saw the Eisenwalds lose favor in the Imperial Court and a portion of their estates. Though the Eisenwalds plotted to regain their cherished privileges and position like most of the Nobility did during the Emblem of Blood with Jason's grandfather becoming a backer of the rival candidate to Emperor Charles. This of course proved to be a disaster with the Emperor stripping them of most of their remaining lands and titles as well as imposing many punitive financial penalties against him. The Eisenwalds in this instance like many of the nobles who bet on the wrong side, were made examples of. This served to both increase the power of the Emperor by assert his dominance over the nobility, and to bring them into the fold with a carrot and stick approach whereby the loyal nobles gained vast wealth and honors lavished upon them.
After his poor grandfather unable to suffer the humiliation he had brought upon their house, died from a heart attack, his father came into power as the head of the family. Jason's blood boiled when he thought of his father. He hated that man and saw him as responsible for the near destruction of his household. His indulgent wastrel of a father, the former Count Rudolf von Eisenwald had bankrupted his family. The man being both a drunkard and a gambler, had wasted away what little remained of their fortune. In a few short years their family became indebted, and with the Darwinist philosophy governing Britannia, the Eisenwalds's old enemies resurfaced like vultures waiting to begin picking away at the remains of his house before the body was even cold. And they would have too had it not been for him seizing power and joining the army. At the age of 13 he became the head of the family after his father unable to look him in the eye any longer, left abruptly to the new colony that was Area 11. That was the last he saw of his father who ran off with whatever scraps they had left in the family vault. The last he heard of him was that he had lost everything to some schoolboy in an Area 11 Casino, dying penniless in the streets. As far as Jason was concerned that was the most useful thing the man had did in his life.
But with his father now gone, as head of the household, he was now the one responsible to all his father's creditors. In order to pay off his father's debts the remaining family estates and assets had to be liquidated with all their possessions except for the Eisenwald Castle being sold on the open market. What truly angered him the most though was when he had to sell his mother's jewelry to be able to cover basic living necessities, as he and his brother would have starved. Seeing that his situation was no longer tenable, he joined the Britannian Imperial Army. After uncovering an old archaic law dating back to Emperor Richard IV where debtors were offered relief, so long as they joined the army, he was able to stave off total ruin with his enlistment as his assets became protected. This policy was one of many shrewd and calculated moves to reward the servicemen and consolidate the Britannian army around the Emperor which was what allowed them to become the holy and inviolable monarchs that they are today. While this law hadn't been enforced in years, the fact that it wasn't formally repealed allowed him to secure a temporary hold on any debts he owed while he was an enlisted man. Still this measure didn't really save him, but merely stopped his family's further descent.
While his time at the Royal Military Academy was quite horrendous, it was where he met his highness Prince Maximilian: his closest friend, and the man who helped save his House. Due to his noble rank, Jason had earned a place among the other cadets who began their training to become a non-commissioned officer. However his more noble superiors held him in low esteem, and often held him in disregard with them refusing him promotions for his rightfully earned merits. This made Jason despondent about his military career until he met Prince Maximilian. The Prince unlike most of the other nobles and royals, was a man who valued talent above all else. This led him to but heads with the other nobles who looked down on men like Jason. The prince despite the highly stratified nature of Britannian society, allowed men of merit to be promoted. The Prince was also magnanimous with his friends. Tears swelled up in his eyes when the Prince settled all his debts, and then went out of his way to pay for the restoration of his family home. Eisenwald Castle which had been neglected for decades saw large sections of the building into disrepair with his family no longer to able to pay for the upkeep of the building. It was gestures like these that earned the Prince his loyalty and friendship.
A sudden knock on the door interrupted him from his thoughts. Jason got up from his chair and said "What is it?"
The man behind the door said, "It's me sir, Colonel Sharpe. I've come to inform you that Prince Maximilian has just passed through checkpoint Winston. His eta is approximately 15 minutes."
"Very good sir," Jason said. "Assemble the men, we shall prepare to receive the Prince with a hero's welcome."
"Yes sir," said Colonel Sharpe.
Author's Note:
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