Award Ceremony II

The next day, Will and Elizabeth arrived at the castle for their official appointment with the king.

"Cousins, come join me," Roland said amenably.

"We greet his majesty," Will and Elizabeth respectfully bowed.

"Come now, none of that. Please speak to me informally. Truthfully, I'm tired of hearing formal speeches. Every noble acts like a sycophant. I need to speak to someone who isn't groveling. I want you to speak to me informally," Roland said.

"I can tell you're tired, dear cousin. How is your soon-to-be queen? She is quite the talk of ladies at court," Elizabeth began the conversation.

"She is fine. Besides the outburst, she's been very fair-minded. I am sorry about that Will," Roland apologized again.

"I'd be happy to introduce her to the young ladies our age," Elizabeth plotted.

"That's sweet of you, cousin. Bryson inform the princess she'll join Elizabeth tomorrow for tea," Roland said unaware of Elizabeth's revenge plot.

"Let's get to business. Will after Korce, I told you I'd listen to your award request. What do you want?" Roland asked.

"Korce, Lezhe, Kukes, and a Shipping Charter from the king," Will said not holding back. It was common knowledge Durres would be managed by the crown. Which meant every shipping company had to get a charter from the king. It was an ingenious move, which put every shipping company under the king's thumb.

"Korce is an important choke point. If you controlled Korce then your army would have the freedom to attack northern and southern Fermion unchecked. Did you not realize the significance of making such a request?" Adviser Chen asked Will.

Will knew the significance of Korce, as well as the strategic importance of a good negotiation opening. He knew the king turn down Korce, which make him more likely to approve of his other choices.

"You can't have Korce, I'm moving the military base from outside the north of Friendship Valley there. In return, I'll grant you a shipping charter. But, why Lezhe and Kukes. What's in the western region?" the king calmly asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Nothing particular," Will replied shrugging his shoulders. Convincing neither Roland nor Elizabeth that he had no particular reason.

"Will tell me your plans!" Roland demanded.

"I miss the snowy mountains and the beach. I want to build an inn to escape into nature. I figured some people might share the same idea," Will said shrugging his shoulders.

"You plan to assign those cities to your vassals?" the king asked.

"Yes, your majesty," Will replied.

"By controlling those vassals, you'd control all of Western Albania. You'd rival Uncle Francis and Duke vont Khan's territories! I can't allow that…you can't control Western Albania and Friendship Valley, it's too much territory.

What I can do, is give you one territory and allow you to choose the Baron for the other," Roland advised.

"Then I'll take Lezhe and choose Vincent vont Wright as the Baron of Kukes," Will said.

"That miserable man. His family's been a pain in my side for too long. I planned to demote him to a landless knight. But there is something hysterical about appointing a baronet pyromancer to the cold snowy mountains!" Roland laughed boisterously.

"I'm happy to amuse you," Will said.

"Oh, I needed cheering up. Now let's move on to your conversation with Duke vont Khan," the king suspiciously eyed Will.

"We negotiated a five-year deal, where I purchase goods for a 50% markup, in exchange for 30 pristine caravels," Will said.

"You'll pay the former Albanian eastern lords 50% more per kilogram or bushel, for 30 ships? I heard you already have close to 100 unmarked ships ready in the harbor, is that true?" Roland asked impressed.

"At last count, I own 127, in truth, I hoped for more but Claud rejected several ships. With the Orca Clan treaty, Fermion has a golden opportunity," Will said.

"You did an excellent job getting that treaty, 50 years is quite impressive. Even more impressive is that you have the Orca Clan pirate princess as your disciple. I hear she is quite attractive. Did you decide to take a second wife, but you're just telling people she's your disciple?

I don't plan to outlaw polygamy any time soon, so have as many wives as you can afford, and you could afford a lot—" Roland joked until he saw Elizabeth's eyes.

"Ahem, I digress, you've outdone yourself in this war," Roland lauded Will.

"Thank you, cousin," Will said chuckling internally. He was impressed that Elizabeth could scare the king.

"Then it's settled, tomorrow I'll grant you a shipping charter, the Barony of Lezhe, and appoint Vincent vont Wright baronet of Kukes," the king said.

…

The next day, Will, Elizabeth, their children, and Kalista sat in the throne room.

"The kingdom, must have thousands of nobles?" Kalista said looking around. Everyone wanted to meet her, Will's first disciple. She was surprised at how nice the humans were.

When she teleported to Tirana she was scared of people and refused to leave her room after training. But Will's family and maids helped her to start trusting humans.

"You know, I sometimes forget how many of us there are," Elizabeth said affirming Kalista's question.

While Will did not know the names of all the landed nobles, he didn't care. They were eager to please him. While Will did not know all the landed nobles, he did know the names of all the guild leaders, especially the Merchants Guild leaders.

Soon Bryson opened the doors and yelled, "King Roland Godwin Fermion III and the Dowager Queen Ashley Maria have arrived! All stand, and bow."

On cue, the crowd rose and bowed or curtsied submissively as King Roland and the queen entered and took their seats.

"You may rise and be seated," King Roland announced.

The king stood dressed regally in a golden robe, with an expensive gold chain necklaces. The king especially showed off his wealth and power. Signaling his superiority over his vassals.

"Yesterday, I declared the start of Congress of Nobles. Today we honor the war heroes, who were responsible for the reunification of Fermion.

This union was brought about by persistent efforts. My family long sought to reunify Fermion from the usurpers but failed to do so. With my deliberate approval, these heroes fulfilled my ancestors' dream.

By the divine power conferred upon me by the primordial gods, I conquered my enemies and achieved my ambition.

Today, we celebrate our national unity. Unnatural separation has divided us by dynastic jealousies and the ambition of short-sighted usurpers.

Today, let's put that separation and jealousy behind us. Today, we bring a great masses of free people under a single kingdom.

Today, we strengthen our relations with the Great Eastern Empire, Dwarvish Kingdom, Tribal Lands, and the Elvish Kingdom. Let's pray our relations always remain intimate and cordial.

Now as thanks to those who have served the crown so loyally, it is only just they receive rewards in lieu for the great actions they performed," King Roland finished his speech.

"General Jing vont Smith, step forward," Bryson yelled.

"For your great courage on the field of battle and conquer of Durres, I name you Governor of Durres and elevate you to Marquis," the king declared.

With Durres under his care, the new Marquis became a target of discussion. It shouldn't have been surprising considering how close he was to the king.

"Thank you, your majesty I graciously accept such undeserving rewards," the Marquis vont Smith bowed.

"Colonel vont Valdez, step forward," Bryson yelled after Marquis vont Smith returned to his seat.

"For your great courage on the field of battle and conquer of Vlore, I promote you to Marshall and grant the port of Vlore as your fiefdom.

"Thank you, your majesty I graciously accept," the Marshall bowed.

The awards continued until it was Will's turn.

"Viscount vont Ballard, step forward," Bryson shouted.

"For your efforts sieging Korce and holding out until the king's army arrived, you are promoted to Colonel and awarded a permanent residence in Tirana. Along with this, your businesses in Tirana are exempted from royal taxes for the next five years.

For your service in advising the King, and your efforts to help capture Tirana, you are elevated to Earl.

For your efforts in conquering Western Albania and securing a 50-year peace treaty with the Orca Clan, the king grants you Lord of Lezhe, and the first shipping charter," the king said.

"I humbly thank Your majesty." Will bowed. Will knew his and most of the residences in the capital belonged to the dead or deposed. While Will anticipated most of his awards, he was surprised by the tax-free gift.

Will saw his status update:

Race: Human

Rank: 3 (Earl)

Title: Lord of Commerce/ Gaia's Champion

Class: Merchant

Sub Class: Spellsword Knight

Attributes:

Constitution—82

Strength—85

Dexterity—77

Intellect—92

Charisma—17

Ranks Skills: Management (87), Diplomacy (74), Accounting (91)

Class Skills: Appraisal (100, 100), [Radar]

Abilities: Master Swordsmanship (7, 75), Master Terramancer (8, 75), Gaia's Blessing (multiplies your spell strength x2), Journeyman Blacksmith (37, 50).

Of all the award recipients, Will received the most awards. Most recipients received a free mansion in Tirana and promotion in their army rank.

Will's rewards, ranked second only to General Marquis vont Smith. That was because they were closer to the king than most and had contributed more to the war than most nobles combined.

"Now that the award ceremony is over, I have two announcements and then I'll provide details about how the Congress of Nobles shall proceed.

First, I have elevated my Royal Steward Bryson to Chamberlain.

Second, where there is loyalty and reliability, there is also betrayal and ambition. Former Albanian nobles who sided with the usurper shall be punished for treason and their property stripped.

This is the reason for congress to redraw the political map. My Chamberlin and ministers shall meet individually with nobles. Nobles may request a territory that was appointed today.

The map shall show you which territories are available. You may select territories based on your peerage. Please list your top four choices.

Lastly, at the end of the week shall be my wedding, you are encouraged to attend," the king informed the excited crowd.

The Congress of Nobles allowed the king's chance to fracture long-held alliances and extend his power and influence. For nobles, this congress represented their chance to expand their territories and improve their station.

The King wanted to keep control over his reunited kingdom, to do that he fortuitously took advantage of vacated lands due to pandemic, famine, Peasant Revolts, or war.

Moreover, he use this opportunity to purge competing factions.

King Roland wanted absolute power, and to rule absolutely he needed to get rid of counter fractions and make the nobles more dependent on him.