《Ice Sorcerer, Son of the Baronet》 Ice Sorcerer, Son of the Baronet Ice Sorcerer, Son of the Baronet 1. Bestowment Winter year 1252 of the Crixian lord. Morganius Naravas was son of a baronet, a temporary position bestowed upon his father Clearchus for defending his village against Turanian raiders. Turan was a behemoth of an empire of the Kena religion, a religion that taxed disbelievers and believed in its own supremacy, largely confined in one state, (although not always) it had successfully swallowed up what had been Mikelian lands. The Mikelian Empire was a ramshackle empire that had perpetual civil wars, which was partly why the Turanians had grown so much at their expense. Mikel was a Crixian nation of the eastern rite so called ¡®true rite,¡¯ whereas Unanet and Kosor belonged to the ¡®faithful rite.¡¯ Unanet was a powerful kingdom to the west, Kosor a small island nation that had decided that the ¡®faithful rite¡¯ was more beneficial. Morganius was influenced by his grandfather. An old man who chirped on about the old gods, his parents greatly discouraged him. ¡°You will never get anywhere in life listening to that old man!¡± Clearchus said, ¡°even he accepted baptism, he only got away once talking about paganism by claiming he was crazy.¡± A wooden house, with a crackling fire that attempted to keep the elements at bay with the crackling of carbonic matter. ¡°Mikel is sick because of the constant power struggles, they fight for the top position, not to make the country better! That is why Turan can take advantage. They have their own sicknesses, they kill their own brothers to prevent succession crises, but it works does it not! A Republi-¡± ¡°Enough,¡± his mother said, ¡°the Emperor is chosen by god.¡± ¡°God does a lot of choosing,¡± the grandfather said. ¡°Enough of your blasphemy!¡± Storane said, ¡°don¡¯t infect Morganius with your nonsense, a Republic, next you¡¯ll say pigs should choose government.¡± Storane was a devout Crixian and a monarchist, and she believed the doctrine, Crixian or Kena, they believed monarchs were chosen by their god, and that to defy this was ungodly. Eochar the grandfather was extremely unorthodox in many ways, but nonetheless listened to his son and wife. Clearchus did not know what to believe, and so he went about his day as he normally would. Due to Clearchus being a Baronet, he earned 5 silver coins every month bestowed by the Mikelian Imperial government, he was respected in his village. It all happened so quickly, first it was a child, begging for food, Morganius gave him food, then a woman was drowning in the river, and Morganius was the first to fish him out; next an old man was yet again begging, and yet again Morganius gave money to the man to help him, and even put him inside his house to keep warm. ¡°It¡¯s cold this time of year, don¡¯t stay in the cold,¡± ¡°Goodness me, what are you doing?¡± His mother said, ¡°get this guy out.¡± Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°It¡¯s winter, it¡¯s not exactly the best time of year to be in the cold.¡± The old man smiled, and disappeared, leaving everyone in the Naravas household confused. It would only be in the night as Morganius slept that all became clear. ¡°You have a good character Morganius, I am the goddess of ice, and I came in many forms to see your character.¡± The woman had silvery hair, sharp cold blue eyes, staring deep into Morganius¡¯s soul. ¡°Right?¡± Morganius said. ¡°I have tested your kindness, but you need to test your determination and strength. Go to this location, if you survive, you will have the power I bestow upon you.¡± Morganius woke up the next morning, and rushed out of his house. His mother tried to stop him, but he only briefly stopped. ¡°The future depends on the actions of today,¡± Morganius said, saying something quite pithy for a parting goodbye, ¡°so I must go.¡± ¡°What? Where?¡± Storane asked. She furrowed her brows and tried her best to understand what her son said; but he fled out the door, and off he went into the wild. He didn¡¯t bring much, and perhaps that was for the best. It took him a day, but he arrived into a forest and then into a cave, scrambling around not seeing much but mice and spiders. He drank cave water and eventually stumbled into the coldest part of the room, a place unnaturally cold, a skeleton began hacking at Morganius, and he held the unnatural arm and smashed it against the wall, and then another came and tried to hack him against the wall. The near death experience had Morganius exhaling as he drank a vial that the cold was emanating from, and then proceeded to destroy the skeletons with ice shards emanating from his hands. ¡°You have done well,¡± the goddess said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry I had to guard my creation, but first I had to see if you are worthy.¡± ¡°Right¡­¡± Morganius said breathlessly, ¡°I should get back to my parents.¡± ¡°Remember the old gods young one, or you can be a follower of the monotheists, you choose what you want to do. It is your life after all,¡± she said. Morganius stood there agape, and looked at the animated skeletons. What unholy magic was that? How did she do that? ¡°That I have not given you, young one¡­¡± the goddess laughed, disappearing into the ether. Magic did exist, but it was not so sophisticated, and not so numerous. Mages were often just glorified builders or growers of food, or perhaps they could light candles. Morganius fled back to his home, where his confused parents looked at him with much confusion in their eyes. ¡°What on earth were you doing?¡± Clearchus his father asked. ¡°Father give me three of your retainers,¡± ¡°You want troops now?¡± Clearchus laughed. ¡°I am being serious,¡± Morganius said, ¡°I will take the fight to the Turanians.¡± ¡°It¡¯s winter, don¡¯t be stupid,¡± Storane said, ¡°you¡¯re just going to get yourself killed.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± Morganius assured her, ¡°that I know.¡± Where is this confidence coming from? Both parents thought. ¡°Two,¡± Clearchus said, ¡°I am only a Baronet remember, but that entitles me to at least 10 men, just pick something small, and come back ok?¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Morganius said, a lie in his heart, but he agreed for sake of calming his parents. His grandfather looked at him with astonishment. When his parents went away, his grandfather confronted him. ¡°You have been blessed with something great, the gods have chosen you to bring them back into prominence,¡± he said with astonishment. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean,¡± Morganius said. ¡°You will,¡± the grandfather said, he turned around to see if anyone was looking and gave him a book, ¡°it demolishes the Crixian theology, read it if you have time.¡± ¡®Against the Crixians,¡¯ it was titled. A book of heathenry for sure. I could be killed for sure for reading something like this. And off he went, his destiny already irrevocably changed. 2. Counter Raid 2. Counter Raid Morganius was 20 years old. He set off with two retainers, people who really did not want to join him on this fool¡¯s errand, nonetheless he took them along and he marched from his southern village of Zena in the province of Phesus into the Turanian province of Izin. His father¡¯s retainers were extremely nervous at being in enemy territory. ¡°By Crixus this is insane,¡± one of them said. 40 Turanian riders immediately began hooting, but Morganius produced icicle shards that hurtled and unhorses the first few riders, making the retainers aghast and look at him like he was a monster. The Turanian horsemen tried to circle around, but Morganius successfully took out the first riders, and the others tripped and were unhorsed. Shards of ice arced through the sky, piercing the armour of the Turanian soldiers. A dark green flag with a golden sword dropped to the ground, ice shards sticking through at least 30 of the soldiers, with the other 10 scampering off in total terror. ¡°What in the actual fuck¡­¡± a retainer said, ¡°you can do that?¡± The other one was shorter, and just had his jaw open, staring as Morganius approached the horses. ¡°We can go quicker this way,¡± Morganius explained. The two retainers looked at him like he was crazy, and to some extent perhaps he was. He rode near the Turanian village, and the local soldiers immediately mobilised against the distant threat. One retainer was armed with a spear, and the other a sword, they got off the horse and Morganius likewise got off the horse. ¡°Even those horses were worth something,¡± Morganius sighed. 20 archers and 20 spearmen faced off. Morganius asked the man with the spear to hoist the Mikelian flag, a purple flag with a golden hawk. The Turanians were immediately incensed and charged at the three figures they saw in the distance. ¡°I will haunt you if this doesn¡¯t work,¡± the tall retainer said. It did. The spearmen had flying pieces of ice lodged in their throats and heads, and the archers¡¯ arrows were blocked by a screen of ice, which again caused the retainers to gawk a little. When the arrows thudded into the ice, he retracted it and proceeded to slaughter the archers in the distance. It took a shocking lack of time, gunning down one side, but Morganius wiped out the garrison; one man seemingly came out to take him down from a low angle, keeping a low profile and hoping to ambush Morganius but he successfully shot an ice bolt straight through his brain. ¡°Hoist the Mikel flag on the village, you can go back, I think I can handle the rest,¡± Morganius said. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The village was small, but it was now technically Morganius¡¯s. The locals looked at him with fear, some mercenaries appeared from a bar. ¡°I can pay you in horses and captured coin!¡± Morganius said. The retainers scampered off, heading for Zena and for Morganius¡¯s father to tell him the news; and now three local mercenaries armed with crossbows looked at their new employer. Morganius rode back bringing one of the mercenaries on his horse to take a horse back. Local villagers were invited to take the horses too, it took an hour or so, but 25 horses were recovered, giving Morganius 50 Turanian silver. Each mercenary got 10 silver coin each, and they nodded quite satisfied. The other coins were returned to the village, a compact formed with a bribe. The villagers were nonetheless nervous at being taken by Mikel. ¡°Isn¡¯t Mikel soon going to have another civil war, you can¡¯t possibly beat Turan,¡± one of the men said nervously. ¡°Perhaps,¡± Morganius said, ¡°I am not afraid of Turan. Tell me where are the nearest villages?¡± The villagers all looked at him with expressions of amazement, aghast that he could suggest such a thing. ¡°Here,¡± one said, ¡°and there is a larger town here.¡± Morganius didn¡¯t waste much time, buying some supplies, which the villagers gave without much trouble, and riding to the nearest village. His mercenary crossbowmen had thick hide and a steel shield on their backs to protect from missile fire, as well as a short blade; they rode for two hours arriving at another confused Turanian village. They dismounted and Morganius stared into the distance, seeing the thatched roofs and the small Turanian army. ¡°You are really crazy huh,¡± the mercenary said aloud. ¡°Why¡¯s that then?¡± ¡°Well for one you wish to be a Mikel lord,¡± the mercenary said, ¡°secondly, you are attacking Turanian lands, this makes you mad.¡± 100 horsemen thundered along, catching Morganius on the plain, his mercenaries were about to run, when he unleashed a cannonade of fire, taking out the first rider, and then the next, shooting his ice bolts at the perfect height, as they pierced shoulders and knocked heads off. The Turanian horsemen were horse archers, adept at hit and run, but due to the sheer odds they had hoped to simple ride down Morganius, he in a minute had whittled them down to 30, his crossbowmen shooting at least three dead. Ice continued to fly in their general direction before there were only horses, and five fleeing riders. His mercenaries raised their weapons in the air, and the local village soldiers still determined to fight him. 20 men armed in heavier weapons came thundering along, and Morganius reduced them to 10, his crossbowmen were too busy celebrating to notice, and watched as their commander and employer shot into their legs, crippling them before they finished them off, six of them surrendering leaving yet another village in his hands. The flag of Mikel was raised by one of the mercenaries, while the other two collected coin, and things that could get coin. ¡°Horses can get coin, and I guess armour and weapons too,¡± ¡°Their markets won¡¯t accept it, not for very much anyway,¡± one of them said, ¡°that¡¯s just how it is I¡¯m afraid.¡± Two local villagers were hired as swordsmen, something akin to Morganius¡¯s bodyguard, they promptly enjoyed the loot of silver coin. Morganius hired a cart, overpaying with 10 silver before bribing the local villagers. ¡°Yes humble sorcerer lord,¡± one man said, ¡°most gracious of you.¡± Morganius had five men, collecting some fine rings, necklaces and some swords in the cart before trundling along to their next target. Morganius gave his two new recruits 10 silver each, and promptly had an army fund made with a large pouch. He had looted 200 silver and had already given away 100 to the village, 30 on the cart and the two soldiers; leaving the rest for future purchases. He thought awhile and purchased another cart and two drivers. Left with 40 silver coins he read the book he was given. 3. Baron 3. Baron The book was nothing special, but it was a pagan polemic against the Crixian religion, written in a bygone age by some pagan philosopher; nonetheless it was enough to convince Morganius of what he should do in his fiefs. A tough ask, considering he was going to be ruling people who were predominantly Kena or Crixian. Nonetheless he headed for the nearest town, determined to conquer more land off of the vast Turan Empire. It took roughly a day, due to resting and eating and sleeping, but the five soldiers, their commander and the baggage train arrived at the town of Mordin. Mordin was a town of 3000, it was hardly a metropolis, but it had a sizeable population and was a worthy prize. Morganius stopped the two carts and headed out to make history. 500 troops, catching wind of some opportunistic raider had been deployed to stop Morganius and protect the town. Morganius saw the large force, and his mercenaries were panicking slightly. ¡°Just hold the line!¡± Morganius said, ¡°I¡¯ll do the rest.¡± About 200 men came charging at Morganius and he shot a torrent of ice shards that rendered the first few soldiers dead. Then the next lot fell over into their footprint, helmets flew off, shields were pierced, sword and spear arms struck, leaving screaming soldiers. Even the mercenaries were perturbed by the sounds of the injured and dying. Still the rate of projectiles was unceasing, ice shards puncturing shields, and torsos with no remorse. Morganius¡¯s mercenaries began to panic as the Turanian army neared, one of the swordsmen already throwing his weapons down and running, only to see the Turanians be utterly shredded in the proceeding moments to return to his paymaster. Morganius was beset with 20 horsemen, eager to end the madness of the assault, surprised to find that Morganius shot them from their saddles even at close range. ¡°Surely he¡¯d run out¡­¡± one of them uttered in his dying breaths. A horse archer came to take shots, but was promptly dismounted. The citizens of Mordin came to watch the spectacle, stunned to see that the small force was besting the garrison, the Turanian soldiers falling over one after another. Soldiers were screaming their damnations, but Morganius advanced, shooting them down, and ultimately killing a few commanders in the process. The main commander, a count of Turan watched the spectacle with absolute horror, advancing all his men, himself included, only to be shot in the neck, collapsing to the floor, and collapsing the morale of his forces, despite this they did not flee, for they saw they still outnumbered Morganius. Morganius shot them as they approached and they did indeed fall to the floor. They got within ten metres of him, and there were still 100 or so of them. His mercenaries shot at them, his two swordsmen preparing for melee combat, but Morganius became even more effective at this range, his ice shards piercing through three people at once in some instances; when men came to lop his head off, they were met with a swift and brutal end. His swordsmen swiped, getting themselves bloody, but the crossbows were largely ceremonial, small swords readying to fight, only to see pierced Turanians littered the ground. The flag of Turan, the dark green flag with the golden sword fluttered as Morganius promptly entered the town of Mordin. His two cart drivers had some goods to sell but now that was considerably more. Looting the rings and coin pouches, they found 1000 Turanian silver, worth 10 Turanian gold coins. The armour and swords were sold in the local market for extra profits, with the horses selling for another 500 silver coins. Morganius hired 50 crossbowmen, immediately losing the 500 silver he had just invested. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°How many wagons should we invest?¡± One of the swordsmen asked. ¡°Wagons?¡± Morganius asked. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be the ideal mode of transport?¡± ¡°I guess it would,¡± Morganius said. He entered a stunned town, his new men put the Mikel flag on the townhall, the local Kena religious building stopped their prayers, and the new lord was met with a messenger from Mikel itself. ¡°Due to your recent activities, you have become a baron milord,¡± the messenger said, ¡°a UU, but a baron.¡± ¡°UU?¡± He repeated, completely ignorant of Mikelian aristocratic law. ¡°Unsupported and unfettered,¡± the mercenary swordsmen explained, ¡°it means you don¡¯t get paid by the Imperial government, but also you have no obligations, you are almost independent as a lord, beyond the need to defend the realm I guess,¡± he explained. ¡°What¡¯s your name soldier?¡± Morganius asked, looking at the man more closely. ¡°Zaras,¡± the man said, ¡°quite nice to fight with you sir, quite reassuring. Or should I say lord.¡± ¡°We have many obligations, many things to do, I need to fight the Turanians and drive them out.¡± ¡°Quite,¡± Zaras said. A man with black hair and a moustache and light blue eyes, he was the one who did not run away as the Turanian army approached. The messenger meanwhile dismissed himself, beyond giving Morganius a small medal. Morganius gave an announcement that would shock his new soldiers and the citizens alike. ¡°I as your lord am a pagan and will support the old gods establishment and worship!¡± He said aloud, to everyone. His soldiers were shocked, but loyal to coin anyway, but the local citizens outright looked at him like a maniac. ¡°A pagan?¡± One man said indignantly, ¡°your realm is Crixian, what do you mean a pagan?¡± ¡°I am a pagan,¡± Morganius said, ¡°and I will bring the fight to the Turanians.¡± ¡°Pagan?¡± Zaras laughed, ¡°you might be an UU lord, but even that will piss off the emperor. Emperor Theodosius the fourth will be upset.¡± ¡°Let him, he did not conquer this town,¡± Morganius seethed. He spent his coins equipping his new mercenary army, getting wagons ready for transport of his new force, he got 10 wagons and 10 wagon drivers and prepared for new campaigns outwards.