Capítulo 9: Aelius in Nicea
My education and research had gone well until I turned five when I was ordered by my father to start my physical training. It seemed that he had decided to speed up my education and wanted me to have experience in governing. However, it would've given my brother and his vassals a reason to refuse as no sane man would appoint a five-year-old kid as a governor of a province. So the pretext for my departure was training.
I had made significant progress in impressing the court and gathering the support of the court officials and a portion of the clergy and nobility, so my father must have thought that I was qualified to gather real experience, not just theoretical knowledge. This was also an opportunity for me to gain fighting skills and experience how fighting actually works in this world. Not to mention the fact that I now had incomparable freedom unlike before, so I could finally start some of the projects that I had in my mind for years.
"Aelius, you carry the blood of the noble warriors who have defended this sacred land against the invasions of the barbarians for over three centuries. Your ancestors repelled numerous armies with their swift mounts and spears, and your grandfather united the Holy Order and ascended to the throne by the divine will of the Lady. I carried that will and defended these lands as I promised my father. And after me, you will defend this land and spread the teachings of the Lady further East and West. As great as a scholar you may be, you must have enough skills to prove yourself and take what is rightfully yours, because your enemies will point their swords at you, not their pen. Do you understand?"
"Yes, father."
"Good. Now you will travel to Nicea. You will stay there for the next five years and learn the ways of the order from Sir Thalandir. Be obedient to your master and his teachings."
"I understand."
"May the benevolent Lady shine the way for you."
"Nasie." -"May it be so.", "Amen."-
We then set sail to Nicea. The ships of this world are oared and sailing technology is not developed. The ships are hull-first built, which uses more timber, and because of the lack of steam-bending technique, the timber is either glued or nailed together to make parts of the ships. The first thing I will do when I ascend to the throne is to build an arsenal twice the size of the Venetian one.
We arrived in Nicea in a day and a half. And a few days later, my training with Sir Thalandir began. I was given a wooden sword and shown a few techniques and asked to repeat. Considering my age, I thought that was appropriate, however, the real deal was the riding course. Even though I rode horses before in my past life and I was given a pony, I had extremely sore muscles by night. I spend half the night healing myself with magic.
Apart from the training, I also toured the city a few times and interacted with the residents. I used magic to heal a few sickly people I came across, and overall kept a benevolent attitude toward them. I wasn't all acting, helping people in need was what I did in my last life anyway, so half the reason I helped people was just my natural instincts. The other half though was to install my image as a saintly figure so that I can gather the support of the people and my rule would not be challenged later on.
My reputation in the city grew rapidly and I received many requests from prominent families and merchants to "bless" them with money. I refused all money they offered, but I accepted the requests. I also summoned the children of the orphanages of the churches, as well as anyone willing to come, and then, performed the "blessing ceremony", which it later became known as, in the biggest temple of the province in front of everyone. The sight of my glowing white hair, purple eyes, and the pressure of my magic power, as well as the divine act of healing, affected thousands of people and they all kneeled in front of me. The first ones to kneel were my entourage, the knights and guards that were responsible for my safety. I knew for a fact that you cannot take any loyalty as a fact, because people more often than not choose their interests over their promises. That's why I needed to bind them with faith, and then show them the greatness of a fair system that benefits all. I needed to make that a norm so that common sense and the norms would shift toward charity, honor, loyalty, fairness, and justice. I had witnessed firsthand that power and force are needed to enforce the ideals one held on the masses. This doesn't necessarily mean I have to put a gun on everyone's head, no that's far from the ideal. What I needed was to be undefeated, always just, and stronger than all, so that the natural inclination would be toward the ideal that I set.
During this time, I secured a residence outside the city and frequently traveled there. There I practiced hunting, fencing, and riding more freely, and more importantly, I made the followers that I gained in the city build a small farm with a relatively large garden. After that, I planted the grape seeds I brought with me, as well as a few types of berries and fruits that I modified, to the garden. I experimented with many types of fruits and berries in the garden as a part of my next project.
Regalos
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recibido Estado de energía semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Piedra de
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