Second Year

The second year of the curious young Julius's life in this new world brought many new changes to his life. He managed to walk for the first time and talk, much to the joy of his parents. Later in this year, when he turned two on the 17th, in the month of Novmius, he would start royal school, learning to be king.

This didn't stop Julius from learning about the world of Vilmoria from his parents. Currently, he has learned that he lives on one of the five continents of this world called Hatel; he has also learned that this world has twelve months and the same seasons as his previous world.

The months went as follows: Winter consisted of the 12,1 and 2nd months being Kirv, Gerus, and Derepur. Spring consisted of the 3,4 and 5th months being Andomi, Wasred, and Titalism. Summer consisted of the 6,7 and 8th months being Ferebum, Yardon, and Jotra. Fall consisted of the 9,10 and 11th months being Radim, Exber, and Novmius. 

During this time, Julius's parents also explained basic knowledge of the kingdom to him. For example, the kingdom has 25 cities ranging from small to large and 60 towns that are run by noble families.

They also explained to young Julius how the politics of the kingdom work and the ranks of the nobility. The ranks go as follows: lord, a rank granted after a great deed; baron, owning one town; viscount, owning two towns; count, who directly controls one to two cities and has two or three barons or viscounts underneath them.

Above the Count is the Duke, who has multiple cities underneath them and multiple Counts below them. There are three Dukes within the kingdom, the family of Wasriu to the peaceful west, the family of Brutii to the North, and the powerful family of Flavius to the chaotic east. 

Land on the southern coast is all under the royal family and controlled by trusted confidants. 

Julius's parents had been busy during this time creating many new policies aiming to improve the kingdom's situation. Some had been successful, while others had not. Unfortunately, to enact most of these policies, the kingdom needed a drastic increase in its coffers. To get around this, they decided to enact a policy they had been wanting to do for years. 

The Bank of Romanium offers many benefits to the citizens and the kingdom. Citizens who decide to get paid through and keep their money in the bank benefit from a stable interest rate and money safely tucked away in their bronze, silver, or gold card vaults. 

Each card is the color of its rank and is connected to the bank vault through enchantments. To pay, you simply press on the card and think how much money you want. As long as you have it in your account, it will appear on top of the card in your hand. 

This first required a big investment from the kingdom, having to bring in foreign enchanters from faraway kingdoms or empires that cost a large quantity of gold. The royal court believed that the investment was worth it, already bringing some money back, charging one bronze coin for a bronze card, one silver coin for a silver card, and one gold coin for a gold card.

The Bank of Romanium was built within an old Duke noble estate in the capital. This Duke family fought against the revolution and lost all its power after the ruling king lost his head. The vaults were already ready to go, but minor renovations were required to convert it into a functioning bank. 

Bronze cards are for commoners who have normal jobs and earn a relatively simple wage. This card offers a simple interest rate of 2% and is a safe place to keep money away from being robbed.

Silver cards are for wealthy families, mainly merchant families, who have done well for themselves. These cards offer a flat interest rate of 4% and the security of locking away vast wealth safely.

Gold cards are only for nobles who hold a rank from Baron to duke. They offer a fantastic 8% interest rate. Many nobles have their own vaults and estates to store their wealth, so few have large quantities of wealth stored in the bank.

During this time, with the influx of capital from the Bank of Romanium, the repairs to towns and cities were finally finished, wiping away the scars of the revolution. Four years after the revolution and a significant amount of gold later, the kingdom looked itself again, and the people couldn't be happier.

The roads on the western side of the kingdom, near the ancient kingdom of Hesper, were built last year as they were prioritized for easier trade and commerce. These newly built roads were built using stone slabs with a strong dry sand and soil foundation. These roads were draining the coffers quickly but were an investment for the future. Already increasing trade and rate of merchant travel between the kingdoms increased the local economy of both kingdoms.

With the success of the western road system, the royal court decided to build stone roads over the dirt roads that lead to the southern coast cities, prioritizing the cities of Brutium and Lonium. The royal court hoped this would encourage more trade through the coastline from around the continent or beyond. 

The bank of Romanium and the new trade routes also brought in enough income to increase all of the city's garrisons. They held a dual role of policing the city and protecting it from a threat while waiting for the legions to arrive.

City garrisons became a unit after the revolution, removing nobles' household guards and limiting their long-held power. These nobles were limited to 1000 household guards, so they couldn't affect the country or have thoughts of rebellion. Each garrison is commanded by a veteran member who is between tier 2-3 knight depending on the city size and importance, 

The city garrison doubled in most main cities from 2000 to 4000. These cities include Romus, Brutium, Lonium, and Rarena. Many other cities around the kingdom recruited at least 50% more men into the garrison, ready to protect this kingdom.

Recently, in the 10th month of the year Exber, the royal court created a new uniform for the garrisons, who, as before, wore simple royal red padded jackets. Marshal-General Helvius Accensus personally designed the uniform. They now wear full grey chain-mail armor with a black padded overcoat cut off at the knees and elbows. This padded overcoat also had a golden eagle on the back with R.M.N.M written there. The garrisons also now wore a full-faced barbute covering everything but their eyes, offering great protection.

Recently, the war between the empires had increased in intensity, with both sides pushing into the other's territory in certain places. This caused another 120,000 families to move into the Romanium kingdom, moving all over and creating more opportunity and availability for rare classes, in Romanium improving the kingdom's strength and economy further.