[Mkguild] Life IV: Everything in its Right Place - B

[Jack Moore]

AN: Longer today

Life IV: Everything in its Right Place - B

The day was sunny and the sky matched my tunic.  Isenport is a city built
on hills leading down to the harbor.  At the highest hill sits two
buildings, the Manor house and the crumbling Old Keep.  All of the stone
roads that criss-cross through Isenport eventually combine into one path up
to the manor.

The hills were a vibrant green, with grass folding in the wind.  It looked
like it was bowing at me.  And in the distance was the sparkling blue sea.
And between it were swaths of wood and stone rising out of the hills.

Isenport’s wealth decreases as you approach the sea.  The first houses
after the Manor are large plaster cuboids.  They typically were a series of
one to two boxes matching my Manor, with brown wooden fences surrounding
them and massive green lawns.  Many of them had dozens of windows and at
least one floor to ceiling window where the ballroom was located.  If
you’re rich you give yourself a lot of windows.  Behind most of these
manors were large wooden stables, two stories and usually vibrant red.

Manors for the wealthy are always square.  Always plaster, usually painted
bright white so the shine against the sky.  And always above the poor
people.  With your hundreds of windows you can look down on them and on the
stone houses of the middle classes.  On their large green lots the nobles
bred horses.

As you pass by the manors you begin to find the houses of the well off.
Some on hills and a few built into them, these houses were typically one
block.  Usually two stories, brown stone with black roofs and on most at
least four windows.

These are the homes of successful merchants and well to do farmers.  They
lived outside of Isenport itself to avoid the rabble, but they still fell
under our control.  Some of the homeowners were out and watched us as we
passed, always careful to show their respect.

As we got past the stone houses, our cobble stone path split off into half
a dozen different directions.  These paths scrambled down the hills into
the mass of the city, like veins flowing through the body.

Isenport itself was a crowded series of wood and stone rectangles, stuck
together with no room.  Most buildings were wooden, slightly died green and
always damp, covered with splinters and showing damage from the numerous
storms.

Homes were usually two to three room apartments on top of shops.  In the
rightmost section of the city was where the granaries and dry food stores
were kept.  The left most part of the city is where the Navy was stationed.
If you can only ever see one thing in Isenport, see the Naval yard.
Massive grey-stone docks that spread into the ocean like a set of horns,
filled with over one hundred massive wooden ships.  The five-story wooden
ship-warehouse, able to hold up to a hundred ships in it.  Just seeing that
tremendous wooden, shingle-roofed building makes you feel small by
comparison.  Knowing we of the Empire built it still makes me proud.
Blocking you from just entering the Naval yard are the grey stone walls
that surround the docks.  The walls slope upward, made up of thousands of
gigantic stone blocks.  The ramparts are so wide you supposedly could race
carriages around it.  Archers patrolled the walls, but when my father and I
passed they would salute.  Even if we couldn’t see they knew to salute.
In the center of the city was one of the largest Lothensai temples in the
Empire.  My father had ordered it enlarged when he became Lord.  In fact my
father had wanted it to be the largest temple in the world, until my uncle
the Emperor stopped him.

There was also a small Follower church near it.  My father built it, mostly
to stop the Follower’s from whining about not having a church.
In the back quarter of the city are the industrial docks.  Massive wooden
wenches sit alongside docks, waiting for ships full of cargo to arrive.
The smell of fish washes over us no matter how far away you get, until you
just get used to it.

And on the last dock, at the very end, you will see a tall, polished white
stone building resembling a pawn.  The base is black as is the round top
and a ring around the middle.  It has rectangular windows running up it in
a spiral.  At the very top the light spun round and round every night.  And
welded to the roof was a statue of Wvelkim facing the sea.  This is the
famous Lighthouse of Isenport.

If it seems like I’ve been going on a while I apologise.  But I want you to
see my city and understand what I love about Isenport.  This was my city,
but as I walked its familiar streets I felt gratitude towards it.  I got to
rule over this amazing city that had tamed both the land and the sea, that
stood as a tribute to my Emperor.

As my father and I rode into the shadows of the city we began to run more
and more into people.  They lead carts full of goods or they carried bags
of coins.  If they came from the dock they balanced baskets of fish.

One couple we passed as we entered lead a mule with a cart attached to it.
The mule was a sad brown thing, with tangled fur and sores along its neck.
The cart was sunbleached yellow with cracked wooden wheels, and it was
filled with bags of oat and barley.  The couple were old in threadbare
tunics.  Both were leathery brown with white hair on them.  As we passed I
reached for my purse at my waist, only for my Father to slap me upside the
head.

“Ow!”

“Don’t pull out a coin.”  My father snarled.  “They are coming to pay taxes
to us.  This is their tribute for our protection of them.  You don’t owe
them a thing and the sooner you recognize the sooner you’ll be an effective
Lord.”  I nodded and wiped my tears.

“Yes sir.”  We resumed our ride.

The way taxes work in Isenport is all throughout the city tax collector
booths are set up..  A month before tax day, assessors ride through the
city and determine who has what.  They put that in a book, the name of the
person and how much they owe.  On tax day you go to the collector with your
offering and they mark you off.  Imperial employees took your payment and
sent it to the grain houses and the docks to be shipped all across the
empire.

If you avoid paying your taxes we will torture you.

And if you’d think “Boy that situation opens itself up for bribes” you’d be
correct!  So now the local militia had guards with each tax collector to
make sure they did their job.  As for me and my father, we were to watch
and inspect.

The first booth we reached was set up outside of one of the warehouses
where this food would be stored.  Massive tent of orange silk fringed with
gold was the calling card of our government officials.  Yes orange, no I
don’t know why.  The tent flaps had a golden seal on them, with a set of
scales in the center.

Inside you’d find several candle stands set up, making the inside of the
tent smotheringly hot.  You’d find a massive table where the tax collector
man was.  On both sides of him were two men, one was a soldier and one an
assistant..  Now despite his title he wasn’t the one actually collecting
the taxes, two assistants outside the tent did that.  His job was to make
check off names of people when they arrived and check again that they had
their share.

Currently our tax collector was checking off a man in a red and gold
tunic.  Our collector wore a massive ankle length yellow and green tunic
with shoulder pads and gold on the sleeves.  The man was hairless
and...rotund.  His face was very plump and his chins seemed to overflow
from the sick around his neck.  On his left shoulder was the three sign
emblem of the Tax Collector, a scroll, a scale and above them the Sun in
splendor.  All in gold of course. .

“Your taxes are accepted, you may go.”  The man in red began nodding
rappdily.  He shot out of the tent like the floor was on fire.  “Alright,
next in line,” The inspector looked up, “PLease approach-Lor-Lord Leontes?”

Now everyone in the tent was looking at us.  I tried to look down but my
father yanked my head back up.

“How goes the inspection…?”

“Calopodius sir, Imperial Inspector I didn’t expect you to come to see us
today.”  Cal began to sweat even harder, he dabbed at his face with his
sleeve.  The soldier nodded at my father, who nodded in return.

“I and my son will be observing, I feel my son should see how imperial
affairs are conducted.”  Cal forced a smile.

“Yes sir, of course Lord Leontes.”  Now the line continued but at a much
slower pace.  All the while the poor little tax collector’s hands were
shaking.  I mean while observed the people as they approached.

“Father,” I pointed at a man in a uniform, with a different three symbol
emblem on his shoulder, “Why’s a guy from the Institute here?”

“The Arenul Ceen, use the proper term.” My father snapped.  “And he has to
pay less as he serves the Empire, but he still has to pay.  His reward for
his service is lower taxes, but the Ceen have to remember who they serve.”
 As if they uniform, the emblem and their boss being my uncle didn’t tell
them.  Better to make them serve you and charge them for the pleasure.

Now let me tell you I have many happy memories from my childhood.  This
memory brings up two feelings, heat and boredom.  But I did start to notice
the routine.  A person came up to the table and confirmed they were here to
pay their taxes.  Calopodius sent his assistant to look into what they
brought.  The civilian tried to see if he could bribe Cal into taking
less.  All fairly standard.

What was weird to me at least was getting to see the people in my city up
close.  And watching how hard they were trying to hide their loathing for
my father.  I looked up at him, noting he was looking at Calopodius.  Not
his people.

'They really really hate you father.' I frowned. 'We’re taking their
money.  They’re gonna hate me too aren’t they?'

“Now pay attention James.” My father said.  “They’re all looking at us.”  I
swallowed.  “Do not be afraid.  Under no circumstances show fear.”

“Of course sir.” I said.

“Fear must be reserved for them.” Father said.  “They glance at us the same
way they would glance at the sun.  But they know if they stare, the sun
will burn them.”

“Do we have to burn them?”  My father again cuffed me on the back of the
head.

“We are here today not to inspect the operation, but to remind them of who
their Lord is.” My father said.  “If you spend all of your life in that
manor, the people will be complacent.  They must fear you.  Respect is
built on fear, understood?”

“Yes sir.”  So I stood there and I watched.  And I went to another booth
and watched.  And all day long I did this.

That day was the first day of my education in becoming a Lord.  It was also
the first day I realized how separate I was from “my” people.

The people of Isenport lived in fear of Leontes.  And even though they
didn’t know me they feared me as well.  My education from then on was
focused exclusively on developing the tools to become a Lord.  On keeping
me separate from the people.  I would be in the city but not a part of
Isenport.

I know that was a lengthy segway, but...well I love my home.  But I wasn’t
a part of my home.  And now after years of learning to be a Lord I had been
dumped in Metamor.  What did I have at my disposal now?

No life experience or job experience.  So that was what I had to get.
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