Chapter 1: A Meeting of the Free Lords
The hall was large and empty as the morning began. The servants of the castle serving set out seats around the chamber so that any and all who arrived would have stable and proper seating. They gathered candles as well to make sure the place was properly lit for the discussion.
The meeting of the lords was an odd occurrence and was an invitation sent to every one of the houses holding province in the Continent with the exception of the kingdoms of Yannis and Archana. And of course no one was invited north of the North-West mountain range as the people beyond that range were rarely heard of as life in that area is harsh and nearly in a perpetual winter. The House Savoy the ruling family of Jule called the meeting of the lords. "Are we prepared enough?" a young maiden asked of a senior servant.
"Yes dear, I'm sure we'll be fine. There were many houses invited, but these events don't always result in everyone making an appearance. "If we are surprised then we'll make plans as needed." The senior servant with years of experience upon him fully confident in his planning for the day.
Enter the first guests, A young knight escorting his lord. The pair wasn't anything special as it was expected that most lords would arrive with a retinue of sorts for personal safety and security, however the poorer country lords would have notably smaller companions on hand. Jule was a larger settlement in the central portion of the continent so naturally the first pair to arrive were from the nearest settlement over. However the conference was planned well in advance and before too long other groups arrived. All being of well breeding kept their reserve even in their greetings of each other, as the actual purpose of the meeting had not been thoroughly explained in the invitation. Usually a gathering like this would predicate a rally to war or a pressure upon a clan to forfeit lands seized or to discuss major feral and bandit problems. So naturally this was a matter of assumed importance.
Soon the hall was filled of Lords and their guards with the majority of the personal escorts being asked to remain outside due to limited hall space. "Lord the hall is filled, perhaps more will arrive yet I believe you have your audience." A young blonde knight in lean armor stated to his liege. The young lord smiled to his friend and trusted companion as he patted him on the shoulder and moved toward the hall.
"ALL AWARENESS, NOW ENTERING, THE REGENT OF JULE, Shenis Savoy!" the senior servant called to all to gain attention as Shenis and his knight appeared and moved their seat in the hall. Shenis was young, handsome with medium length hair, his preferred dress were his white and silver clothing with a steel breastplate covering his front. He had a thin purple cape. As he moved to his seat many of the familiar faces moved to embrace the young master of the house. Soon he was seated and called all to order.
"Hello my friends, I assume you all have quandaries as to why I have called you here." The statement rang true to all in the audience.
"You got that right." A bold old voice spoke from the back of the hall. "For some of us this isn't an easy journey." The older man voiced.
"You're right Lord Titus, it is true that your lands are a tremendous journey away from here to the South West. I thank you for coming." The old lord smiled and nodded in thanks as he appreciated being recognized. "the reason I have called you all here is because we need to have a sanction of action against House Valtrex." The room filled with quick murmurs between all. Shenis knew he had to continue if he wished to keep control of the room. "As you know, House Valtrex stormed and sacked many villages and towns this past winter they have behaved monstrously this cold season."
"All that rubbish was over 4 years ago!" a voice called out. "Shenis why call a meeting after all this time?" The concern was noted if the actions were so pressing then why wait so long.
"As you know House Valtrex controls Valor in the Northern part of Wiera. This winter has been a long and harsh one, one which surely would have seen us at a disadvantage had we mobilized against them. Thus I wanted to wait until we had healthy harvests coming in before I risked our lives marching north on a mission of justice."
"Why it been too long and Valor and surrounding are moot lands of little worth in resources and trade. I SAY LET IT BE!"
"AYE! AYE!" a voice followed by others called out as the hall found themselves of an accord on the matter.
"If you wish to go punishing them for their deeds, the bully for you!" lord Chile of Dol proclaimed. Dol was the largest of the free cities in the lands and thus the ruling lord was often seen as a leading voice in these matters. Quickly after making his point, many of the other key lords rallied to Lord Chile's viewpoint.
"So you wish to let Valtrex' action go unpunished, you wish other Houses to spread unneeded hostility toward the common folks?" Shenis called out trying to rally back support. It was his goal to see the collective form a coalition force and march upon the northern lands to seize control and anoint a new house, one with honor. The knight at the young lord's side could see things were not going toward a helpful accord and he put his hand on his shoulder to offer support.
"Lord Shenis," the Merchant Master of the coastal port of Sultra spoke. "If you wish to pursue action against Valtrex, I offer to name any of your efforts valid and righteous. We shall hold you no malice towards your actions against the north. However, if you want armed support from us in these actions, we will not offer you our blades for such a land absent goods and resources to cover the costs of war." He opinion carried great confidence of the others and soon the entire hall absent the hosting lord were in agreement on the matter. Shenis found himself alone in his pursuits toward justice for the northern folk near Valor, the town ruled by House Valtrex.
With the main point of the meeting concluded the lords made a few announcements to changes of house or changes of borders and land disputes. Then after several made arrangements for marriage between their houses. However, Shenis kept silent and made no conversation as disappointment held him after he failed to gain support in his efforts to punish the acts of terror he had heard about. The young lord even shrugged off several inquiries of marriage mentioned to him by several of the older lords looking for proper spouses for their daughters. Despite not being in agreement toward war on the north, they still were impressed by the young lord's ability to call such a grand gathering. These meetings rarely happened and when they did all present did try and make the most of the journey. However, the crowds were respectful of the Savoy clan, and since they didn't agree with the young Savoy they soon funneled from the hall into the town's inns or other chambers of the castle to conduct their business away from the young lord or to rest their heads from the hardships of the road.
"Highlight." The young lord spoke to his knight at his side. "What did I do wrong? Why won't they support the cause?" The young lord leaned forward in his chair and pushed his palms into his hair as he was puzzled at all that was going on. He could not believe that not one other lord would offer any support at all.
"Look," Highlight moved in front of his liege and dropped to his knees, and pulled the young master head out of his hands. "They didn't pledge support, sure. But they did say that any action we take is righteous and thus gives us the free lands passage to do as we wish." The young master soon smiled and slapped his hands onto the knight's shoulders, causing the knight to blush a tad.
"You're right my friend!" Shenis arose to his feet with the knight as he felt full of joy at the prospect. "We'll have to make preparations at once." He started darting off down the hall but then stopped. "We should be careful though Highlight, this could be a ploy to get us to march in force north only to have our lands sacked behind us." Highlight nodded in agreement.
"Then we should put together a small taskforce for the sortie north. Shall we appoint your brother as viceroy in your absence?"
The young lord nodded, "Yes, but lets be patient and wait until all guests have left the city before we make the plans, and we'll ask my brother to viceroy in silence so as not to raise the alarm the lord of Jule is elsewhere.
The lord and his knight felt full of purpose and spirit at the plan. However around the bend of the hall was an eavesdropper who smirked at the news. "Good. The young man has taken the bait. This could be quite the profitable year afterall." The eavesdropper chuckled in low volume has he made his way from the villa. He gained the intel he was after.