10 The Territory of Lukeword
Howard finds himself standing in front of a wooden door with an intricate square pattern design etched into it. Behind this door stood a study room where Kant's parents patiently waited for him to make his presence. Upon taking a deep breath, Howard sinked into the character of Kant, before knocking on their door.
"Come in," he hears a faint masculine sound coming from within. With permission given, Howard twisted the knob and entered the room, before walking towards a seat.
The study room was small, about the size of 6 office cubicles. It was a dimly lit room with the only light source being a crackling fireplace using wooden logs as fuel. Despite potentially making it harder to do any work here, the setup gave the study room a warm and cozy atmosphere.
Right next to this fireplace was a bunch of chairs, two of which were occupied by a curvy blonde woman and a tall, muscular man. The other was left empty, separated, and facing the two chairs his parents sat on.
In the middle of these three chairs, there was a short table with stacks of letters on the desktop. Some were inside an envelope while others were just the letter itself, folded into a rectangle. Next to this stack of letters was a rolled piece of parchment.
For some reason, all were individually wrapped with a thin ribbon, both the letters and the parchment paper. Howard did not know why, nor did he really care. Must be to keep them together he guessed.
"Good afternoon Mother. Good afternoon father," Howard spoke first, greeting the parents with his polite tone.
"Good afternoon my child. Please, sit down." The mother pointed at the chair opposing the royal couple. Howard walked towards the chair and took his place.
"May I ask why I was summoned here? You told me you two wanted to talk to me?" he asked.
"Before that, I recommend you read these letters. They were all written the day after you got into that fight with the Pierrevol," the father states, pushing the stack of envelopes closer to Howard. He selects one at random and starts reading through one, before placing it back down and reading another one.
After reading about a dozen letters, he figures out they all came from the town of Alderney praising the prince for his act of bravery and his skilled leadership. Although they start off explaining their lack of faith in the prince at first, whatever he did back there seems to have changed their minds.
"My expectations for this fight have increased," Howard thought to himself.
As he read each letter, Howard made sure to slowly form a smile, partly to trick the parents into believing their son was experiencing bliss reading each letter, and partly because he genuinely felt that way. Must be another side effect of inhabiting the stranger's body.
"Looks like you got a lot of people praising you my son. How do you feel?" Danial asked, speaking in his soothing manly voice. Howard gave himself a second to think of a response, something that Kant would give out in this situation.
"I am glad to see that the people of that town are safe. I am happy that I was able to contribute to their small community," Howard answered.
"I see. Now, tell me. How would you feel about governing your own piece of territory?" Danial asked next. Howard remained silent, a little shocked at the proposal. Where the hell was this coming from?
"I am sorry? I uh…" he tried to form a coherent sentence, but this surge of excitement and joy started to overcome him. Was he… happy?
"Listen, son. We have known that you always wanted to govern your own bit of land, serve the people, and make us proud. However, your mother here…" his head turns to face Malinda.
"...was concerned that you wouldn't be able to handle yourself," he states in a joking manner. Malinda frowns at his remark and decides to argue back.
"You didn't believe him either…"
"That is not important!" he cuts in. He continues to speak to Kant, pretending that Malinda didn't expose him right then and there.
"What is important is that we acknowledge your capabilities as a leader, and your efforts to uphold the Maybale family name. It is therefore why I will bestow upon you a territory to govern by yourself," he states.
"The question is, are you willing to accept it?" Danial asks his son. Howard felt an overwhelming rush of adrenaline and bliss. This was definitely Kant Maybale's emotions at play, considering Howard only interacted with these people at breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
"Um… can I look at the map of the territory I won first? I want to see if I can uh… If I am prepared to govern it," Howard stuttered a little, his excitement growing rapidly by the second. Danial nods in agreement.
"Of course! Here." Danial took the rolled parchment paper, untied the ribbon, and unraveled it on the table itself. Facing Howard was a map of the territory Danial was willing to give him. On the top of the map was a long text box dedicated to the words "Map of the Territory of Lukeword"' written in some kind of old cursive writing.
The map itself features a large landmass with 5 significant rivers, a large lake, a lot of urban settlements, and a few roads connecting the settlements. The landmass itself was drawn in multiple shades of coffee brown, with the darker color emphasizing the fact that the area is on a higher elevation than the rest.
Upon taking a closer inspection, Howard noticed that all urban settlements were located somewhere in the lower parts of the North. The South had no cities, towns, or settlements marked on it, suggesting that the North hogged all the population, while the south was left empty.
Between these settlements, there were barely any roads connecting each other. However, considering their proximity to the river, Howard assumed that they mostly used its tributaries to ship, transport, and trade with each other.
The landmass had 5 main rivers, 3 of them going by the names of Brook, Saleem, and Redwood, originating somewhere up north in the high elevated areas. As for the fourth river Hover, and the fifth river Velcrow, they remained down south near a lake called "Amoria."
While the Brook and Saleem rivers flowed down west and east from their starting point to the coast, the Redwood River flowed all the way down to the south for nearly 310 miles (500km), making it the longest river in the territory.
As for the other two rivers, the Hover River's headwater is located somewhere south of Lake Amoria. There, it travels (20 kilometers) southeast till it splits into another river. While the Hover River continues down south, the new Velcrow River flows North East for 37 miles (60 kilometers).
"Now there are a few things you must know about the territory of Lukeword and its people," Danial says. Howard's eyes move away from the map to face Danial. He rolled the map back up and placed it back down on the table.
"Like what, father?"
"Well, for starters these people mostly believe in a eh… different Angelisist testament," Danial answers.
Howard, who was too busy trying to pinpoint the technological standing of this world, had no knowledge about anything about the religion of the kingdom. He thought to push it back, treating it as important, but something that should be learned later.
That decision to not read up on, what is essentially the moral code this world is operating under, has now come to bite him in the arse. Howard feared he might get into hot water if he wasn't careful in his questioning. He must ask questions regarding the matter while pretending to believe this religion's theology.
"Can you elaborate on that? How many people exactly?" Howard questions.
"Nearly all of them, I am afraid. It is becoming a little bit of a problem," he replies. It was at this point Malinda jumped in, to continue to elaborate on the point Danial is trying to make.
"Although they call themselves Angelisists, they are really just frauds trying to take advantage of the goodwill of the Angelisist faith. They have even started to become a little rebellious! Can you believe that?" Malinda claimed.
Howard wanted to ask why they didn't just clamp down on the rebellion and forcefully try and convert the population. However, he decided against it as it was likely that they probably already thought of that solution. Maybe there are some other factors involved that prevent them from doing so.
Factors Howard wouldn't know since he was a literal alien walking in the skin of the native prince. The wisest choice would be to just listen to what they have to say and acquire context from other sources later.
"What we want you to do is to keep them loyal to the royal family while collecting the proper amount of tribute payment. Although they don't listen to us, they will more likely listen to you," Danial spoke up, pointing at Kant with both his index fingers.
"May I ask why you think they will listen to me more? I am still part of the royal family," Howard asks out of curiosity.
"It is because of your…" Malinda pauses for a second.
"...condition! From what we heard, they have a lot of people like you there. You would fit right in!" Malinda claims.
"Does that mean my status as royalty won't be a hindrance? You said it yourself, these people are rebellious…"
"It will be, and that's why your mother and I have decided to send you in dressed as someone else. You will have a new identity, and you will make use of that identity to present yourself to the public of Lukeword," Danial added.
"That is only if you want this land claim, Kant. If not, your father is happy to pass it on to someone else," Malinda stated.
"Of course, they won't be as respected as you will be, which could lead to a full-on rebellion rising. Do you know what rebellions bring?"
"Blood? Death?" Howard asks, trying to provide her with the answer she wants.
"Yes, exactly. What do you say, my child? Do you want to make us proud, make use of your life, or will you pass on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to someone else?" Malinda questions Kant. Howard remains silent, looking as if he is trying to process the information he was given.
"What the fuck should I say? Should I accept the deal? Would it make me suspicious if I didn't?" he asked himself, his mind racing with these questions. There was this feeling within him, that Kant's parents, people whom Kant loved at the bottom of his heart, had ulterior motives.
He felt as if they were leaving out crucial information about this territory, trying to persuade and guilt-trip him into taking the deal. But why? Why were they doing this? What do they get out of this? Howard had many questions, but in the end, his response must be in line with what Kant would say, instead of what he would have acted.
"Can I ask a question?" Howard finally spoke up. Being a prince who just had all this information dumped on him, he had many questions that he wanted answers to.
"What is there to ask, my child? You either take it or you don't. It is that simple," Danial told him. The parents clearly didn't want him asking questions, but Howard pushed through anyway, stating…
"I just want to know when I am leaving."
"Ah! You should have said so. You will be leaving within a week or two. It should give you some time to prepare," Danial replied.
"So… Do you accept this offer, Kant? Or are you going to leave it behind?" he asks. Howard takes in a deep breath, stating…
"I accept, but I do have one request."
"What is your request?" Danial asks.
"Can I at least choose the name of my new identity?" he asks. Danial turns his head to look at Malinda, whispering something into her ear. She whispers something back to Danial before he turns his head back to meet Kant in the eyes.
"That can be arranged. What name do you have in mind?" Howard leans his head back and looks to the roof, pretending to think about it. After a few seconds, he mutters his own name.
"Howard. Howard eh… Howard Orwell Bright? Is that possible?" he asks.
"Howard… Howard… that is…" Danial spoke up, making a smile.
"That is a very nice name," Danial comments.
